Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.93 and last traded at $21.91, with a volume of 170293 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CPRX shares. StockNews.com raised Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $29.50.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.56.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $122.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.76 million. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.77% and a net margin of 15.69%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, Director David S. Tierney sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.10, for a total value of $301,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 348,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,012,367.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Catalyst Pharmaceuticals news, insider Carmen Jeffrey Del sold 36,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.42, for a total value of $664,188.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,836.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David S. Tierney sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.10, for a total value of $301,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 348,874 shares in the company, valued at $7,012,367.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 201,058 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,188. 11.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPRX. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $45,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,310 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 139.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,726,388 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $43,445,000 after buying an additional 1,587,794 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 12.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,980,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $127,212,000 after buying an additional 860,244 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $11,463,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 101.1% during the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,924,000 after purchasing an additional 533,802 shares in the last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.