Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Shares of Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $61.50 and last traded at $61.07, with a volume of 3232588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Catalent from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $63.50 price objective on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Baird R W lowered shares of Catalent from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.40.

Catalent Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $59.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.26.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.18). Catalent had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Catalent's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Catalent, Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michelle R. Ryan sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $646,849.50. This trade represents a 20.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David Mcerlane sold 1,994 shares of Catalent stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total value of $119,580.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,304 shares in the company, valued at $2,177,150.88. This trade represents a 5.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,114 shares of company stock worth $305,931. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Catalent

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTLT. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of Catalent by 403.3% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 25,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 20,273 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Catalent by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 405,318 shares of the company's stock worth $24,550,000 after buying an additional 14,373 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Catalent by 289.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 49,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 36,652 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Catalent during the first quarter valued at $1,659,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Catalent by 67.9% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 297,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,751,000 after purchasing an additional 120,502 shares in the last quarter.

About Catalent

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Biologics, and Pharma and Consumer Health. The Biologics segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing for biologic proteins, cell gene, and other nucleic acid therapies; pDNA, iPSCs, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; formulation, development, and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges; and analytical development and testing services for large molecules.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.