Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Given Equal Weight Rating at Morgan Stanley

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $21.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $34.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 112.12% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Down 72.9%

MPLT opened at $9.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $421.94 million and a PE ratio of -0.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.03. Maplight Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $40.43.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Maplight Therapeutics will post -5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher A. Kroeger sold 118,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $3,214,809.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,394,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,905,415.86. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vishwas Setia sold 10,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total transaction of $298,327.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 356,256 shares in the company, valued at $10,060,669.44. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 379,987 shares of company stock worth $10,644,411. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $205,000.

About Maplight Therapeutics

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.