Allianz Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 797,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 239,863 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.65% of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals worth $15,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 20,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 2,260 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 639,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,591,000 after buying an additional 15,153 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 93.0% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 63,937 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after buying an additional 30,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 60,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

CPRX stock opened at $24.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.74. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.05 and a 1 year high of $26.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.87.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $148.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.79 million. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 39.24% and a net margin of 37.63%. As a group, analysts expect that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CPRX. 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 report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.20.

Insider Activity

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Carmen Jeffrey Del sold 10,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.33, for a total transaction of $256,233.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,433.46. This represents a 73.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Harper sold 26,746 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.25, for a total transaction of $621,844.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,360 shares in the company, valued at $54,870. The trade was a 91.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients living with rare neuromuscular, neurological and metabolic diseases. The company’s mission centers on delivering safe and effective treatments that address unmet medical needs in small patient populations.

The company’s lead product is Firdapse® (amifampridine phosphate), a treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for adults with Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS).