Share Repurchase Plan Announced by Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Board of Directors

Key Points

• Catalyst Pharmaceuticals announced a share repurchase plan worth $200 million, allowing the company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock, which suggests management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company's stock has been upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald to a "strong buy" rating, with a consensus price target of $33.20, reflecting positive outlook from multiple analysts.
• Shares of CPRX rose by 6.1% recently, indicating increased investor interest, with a larger trading volume than average.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 1st, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CPRX. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.20.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 6.1%

Shares of CPRX stock traded up $1.21 on Wednesday, hitting $20.91. 4,935,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,514. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.34 and a 200 day moving average of $22.22. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $19.05 and a fifty-two week high of $26.58.

Insider Transactions at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $609,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 271,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,502,091.70. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $525,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 379,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,668,324. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,927,241 over the last three months. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for people with rare debilitating, chronic neuromuscular, and neurological diseases in the United States. It offers Firdapse, an amifampridine phosphate tablets for the treatment of patients with lambert-eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS); and Ruzurgi for the treatment of pediatric LEMS patients.

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