Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 66,267 Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) by 41.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 95,005 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 66,267 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $2,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 105.0% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 57.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $188,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 60.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRX opened at $23.18 on Monday. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.05 and a 12-month high of $26.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.75 and a 200-day moving average of $21.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CPRX shares. Zacks Research downgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steve Miller sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was 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 $19,259,165.64. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 30,000 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 271,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,502,091.70. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241 in the last quarter. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

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.