Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.47 and last traded at $63.47, with a volume of 344071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Catalent in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Catalent from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $63.50 target price on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Catalent from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalent currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.40.

Catalent Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $60.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.11. 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 has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.15.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.18). Catalent had a negative net margin of 9.28% and a negative return on equity of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Catalent, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Catalent

In other Catalent news, Director Michelle R. Ryan sold 2,800 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,835 shares in the company, valued at $646,849.50. This represents a 20.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David Mcerlane sold 1,994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total value of $119,580.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,177,150.88. This trade represents a 5.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,114 shares of company stock valued at $305,931. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Catalent

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Catalent during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,480,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Catalent during the third quarter valued at about $214,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Catalent during the third quarter worth about $1,078,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Catalent by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 53,011 shares of the company's stock worth $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Catalent by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,460,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,578 shares during the period.

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.