Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $731,000 Stock Position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals were worth $731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 26.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,343,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 13,915 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 161,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after purchasing an additional 11,733 shares during the period. 79.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ CPRX opened at $20.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.26 and a 200-day moving average of $22.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.79. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.05 and a 52 week high of $26.58.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CPRX shares. Zacks Research downgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 949,663 shares in the company, valued at $19,259,165.64. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $609,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 271,039 shares in the company, valued at $5,502,091.70. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,927,241 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals 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.