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

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.67.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:CPRX opened at $23.18 on Friday. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $19.05 and a 12-month high of $26.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.76.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $53.11 million for the quarter. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 40.78% and a net margin of 37.36%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Tierney sold 26,000 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $525,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 379,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,668,324. This trade represents a 6.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 226,794 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,492.28. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 105.0% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 1,085.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 331.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. 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.