Brokerages Set Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Price Target at $26.43

Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.43.

A number of research firms have issued reports on CPRX. Citigroup initiated coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TheStreet upgraded Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 25,000 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.44, for a total transaction of $411,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 124,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,045,678.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,440 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,133 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $305,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 55,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 40,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 3,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:CPRX opened at $15.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.68. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $11.09 and a 1 year high of $17.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.89.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $110.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.78 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

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.