Insider Selling: Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Director Sells $621,844.50 in Stock

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Director Molly Harper sold 26,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.25, for a total value of $621,844.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,870. This represents a 91.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ CPRX opened at $23.67 on Friday. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.05 and a twelve month high of $26.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.69.

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. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 39.24% and a net margin of 37.63%.The company had revenue of $53.11 million for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPRX. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 105.0% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 79.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.67.

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.