Insider Selling: Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Insider Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) insider Brian Elsbernd sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total value of $411,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,678.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:CPRX traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $15.94. 1,172,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,517,481. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $11.09 and a one year high of $18.22. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.17.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $110.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CPRX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet raised shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 899,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,515,000 after purchasing an additional 153,697 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $711,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 921,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,770,000 after purchasing an additional 58,018 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 222,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $797,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.