Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Short Interest Up 12.5% in December

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,680,000 shares, an increase of 12.5% from the December 15th total of 5,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 975,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steve Miller sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total transaction of $1,096,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 686,996 shares in the company, valued at $15,065,822.28. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary Ingenito sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $272,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,167,603.52. This trade represents a 18.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,500 shares of company stock worth $1,754,140 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPRX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,000,756 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,479,000 after purchasing an additional 263,099 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 130,918.8% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,967,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,968,000 after buying an additional 2,965,310 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $23,215,000 after buying an additional 50,804 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 47.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 618,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,577,000 after buying an additional 200,370 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 87.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 488,386 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,565,000 after buying an additional 227,321 shares during the period. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of CPRX traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.78. 4,930,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,541. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $13.12 and a twelve month high of $24.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $21.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.20.

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.

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