Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Receives $33.20 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.20.

CPRX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research lowered Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRX opened at $20.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $19.05 and a 1 year high of $26.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.19.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to purchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $2,332,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 949,663 shares in the company, valued at $19,259,165.64. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $525,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 379,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,668,324. The trade was 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 worth $4,927,241 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 178.8% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 67,934 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 43,565 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 304.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 44,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 33,314 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 84,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 43.6% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 18,155 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 5,508 shares during the period. 79.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.