Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX Stock Holdings Increased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) by 279.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 346,244 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 254,902 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,907,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,224,000 after acquiring an additional 502,235 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 72.8% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 4,974,767 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $98,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,291 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,429,615 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,908,000 after purchasing an additional 433,318 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,135,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,035,000 after purchasing an additional 333,100 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,933,399 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $68,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stephens set a $32.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, May 7th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $31.50 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $31.50 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of CPRX opened at $31.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.60. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.05 and a 12 month high of $32.56.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients living with rare neuromuscular, neurological and metabolic diseases. The company’s mission centers on delivering safe and effective treatments that address unmet medical needs in small patient populations.

The company’s lead product is Firdapse® (amifampridine phosphate), a treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for adults with Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS).