Analysts Set Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Price Target at $33.20

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.20.

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

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

CPRX opened at $20.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.33 and its 200-day moving average is $22.19. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $19.05 and a one year high of $26.58.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 226,794 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,492.28. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $2,332,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 949,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,259,165.64. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241 in the last quarter. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPRX. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $484,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,506 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,975,000 after acquiring an additional 17,018 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 67,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 13,407 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 18,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 13,915 shares during the period. 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.