Supernus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SUPN) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Supernus Pharmaceuticals' stock price gapped up significantly after Piper Sandler upgraded it from a neutral to an overweight rating, with a new price target of $65.00.
• Insider selling activity was notable, with CFO Timothy C. Dec selling 11,780 shares, representing a 90.43% decrease in his position.
• Several brokerages, including Zacks Research and Cantor Fitzgerald, have recently raised their ratings and price targets for Supernus Pharmaceuticals, contributing to a shift toward a more favorable market sentiment.

Shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUPN - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $48.00, but opened at $51.08. Piper Sandler now has a $65.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00. Supernus Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $50.98, with a volume of 162,794 shares traded.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SUPN. Zacks Research raised shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $64.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Supernus Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Timothy C. Dec sold 11,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total transaction of $524,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,246 shares in the company, valued at $55,434.54. This represents a 90.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Frank Mottola sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.87, for a total transaction of $229,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,801.52. This represents a 24.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 302,841 shares of company stock worth $13,361,449 in the last quarter. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Supernus Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the first quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 5,196,000 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $170,169,000 after buying an additional 360,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Supernus Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,208,560 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $69,614,000 after acquiring an additional 63,210 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Supernus Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,610 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $44,121,000 after buying an additional 72,991 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Supernus Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,382,441 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,275,000 after acquiring an additional 176,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sofinnova Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 799,253 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,192,000 after buying an additional 278,575 shares in the last quarter.

Supernus Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.08 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.44.

Supernus Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of products for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases in the United States. The company's commercial products are Trokendi XR, an extended release topiramate product indicated for the treatment of epilepsy, as well as for the prophylaxis of migraine headache; and Oxtellar XR, an extended release oxcarbazepine for the monotherapy treatment of partial onset seizures in adults and children between 6 to 17 years of age.

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