Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,810,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the May 31st total of 7,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Gary Ingenito sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total value of $1,292,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $830,478.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, Director David S. Tierney sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total value of $392,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 348,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,470,344.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary Ingenito sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.16, for a total transaction of $1,292,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,391 shares in the company, valued at $830,478.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,197 shares of company stock valued at $2,169,560 over the last three months. 11.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 965.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,541,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,610,000 after buying an additional 1,396,930 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 899,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,515,000 after purchasing an additional 153,697 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,046,487 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $82,373,000 after acquiring an additional 174,739 shares in the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. grew its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,257,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,436,000 after acquiring an additional 52,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 764.0% during the 1st quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 94,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 83,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.1 %

CPRX stock opened at $15.31 on Thursday. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $11.55 and a twelve month high of $17.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.38.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $98.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.24 million. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 25.08%. On average, research analysts predict that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CPRX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.80.

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.