Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CPRX

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,375 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,941 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 105.0% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 60.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CPRX. Wall Street Zen lowered Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard J. Daly sold 22,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.62, for a total transaction of $473,641.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 226,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,676,492.28. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Elsbernd sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $609,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 271,039 shares in the company, valued at $5,502,091.70. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 243,970 shares of company stock worth $4,927,241. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRX opened at $21.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.77. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.05 and a 1-year high of $26.58.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 40.78% and a net margin of 37.36%.The business had revenue of $53.11 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 1st that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the biopharmaceutical company to purchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals 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.