Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $39.56, but opened at $40.40. Catalent shares last traded at $39.81, with a volume of 315,524 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. Catalent had a positive return on equity of 3.24% and a negative net margin of 5.43%. The business had revenue of $982.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Catalent from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Catalent from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Catalent from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Catalent from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alessandro Maselli sold 2,071 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $92,242.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,919,698.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Alessandro Maselli sold 2,071 shares of Catalent stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $92,242.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,919,698.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John J. Greisch acquired 21,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $50.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,040.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 34,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,708,160. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,553 shares of company stock worth $158,329. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalent

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Catalent by 7.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Mackay Shields LLC boosted its stake in Catalent by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackay Shields LLC now owns 25,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Catalent by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Catalent by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in shares of Catalent by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 21,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period.

Catalent Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.06. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

About Catalent

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. The Softgel and Oral Technologies segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing services for soft capsules for use in a range of customer products, such as prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, unit-dose cosmetics, and animal health medicinal preparations.