Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.20.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRX opened at $20.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.79. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $19.05 and a 52 week high of $26.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.03.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $53.11 million during the quarter. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 40.78% and a net margin of 37.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,332,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 949,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,259,165.64. The trade was a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $525,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 379,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,668,324. This trade represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $2,860,000. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 30.7% in the third quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 3,828 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 446,399 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,794,000 after acquiring an additional 89,498 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 144,031 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,837,000 after acquiring an additional 39,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.