Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Trading Up 5.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Maplight Therapeutics shares rose 5.3% to $13.66 in mid-day trading, despite volume running 53% below the average session level.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $29.50, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $1.32 per share versus the expected $1.40 loss; meanwhile, institutional investors have established several sizable positions in the stock.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $13.60 and last traded at $13.66. 216,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 464,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPLT. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Maplight Therapeutics from $45.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Maplight Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $21.00 target price on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.50.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Up 4.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $629.81 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.10.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($1.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.40) by $0.08. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, Director Troy Cox bought 15,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.52 per share, for a total transaction of $148,702.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 15,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,702.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 22,082 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total value of $276,908.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 202,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,537,845.20. The trade was a 9.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,672,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $49,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $34,026,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,741,000. Finally, Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $17,060,000.

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We were founded by globally recognized leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research to address the lack of circuit-specific pharmacotherapies available for patients. Our discovery platform holds the potential to fill this void by identifying neural circuits causally linked to disease and targeting those circuits for therapeutic modulation.

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