Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Time to Buy?

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX)’s stock price traded up 1.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $23.80 and last traded at $23.61. 316,473 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,041,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Baird R W raised Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.29.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.39 and a 200-day moving average of $21.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Gary Ingenito sold 44,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.09, for a total value of $991,929.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 68,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,404.57. The trade was a 39.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 62,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.98, for a total value of $1,447,165.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 188,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,333,200.72. This trade represents a 25.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 312,320 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,518,000 after buying an additional 952 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, PDT Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 20,664 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.