Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT)’s share price dropped 5.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $29.00 and last traded at $29.0040. Approximately 31,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 229,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.70.

Maplight Therapeutics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplight Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on MPLT, signaling continued analyst conviction that the shares have upside. Needham Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright initiated/updated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $45 price target (roughly mid?50% upside from recent levels), which can attract buyers and support the rally. Many outlets reported the new coverage and target. HC Wainwright Coverage & Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar and market quote pages show current trading context (price, volume, 50?day moving average) that traders use to gauge technical support/resistance. Use these pages for up?to?date quotes. Morningstar Quote
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright’s detailed forecasts also project larger net losses over 2026–2027 (FY2026 EPS ~ -$4.34; FY2027 EPS ~ -$5.25) and quarterly losses through 2027 — data that underscores continued cash?burn and execution risk for a clinical?stage biotech. This raises downside risk if clinical or financing progress stalls. Analyst Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reported results included a sizable Q1 EPS miss (reported -$2.47 vs. consensus -$1.05), which remains a reminder of earnings volatility and could pressure sentiment if follow?up data or guidance are weak. Recent Earnings Miss

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MPLT. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “sell (e)” rating on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.43.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Up 4.0%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.73.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($2.47) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($1.42). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 24,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $713,564.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 243,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,001,622. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Gillis sold 51,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.74, for a total transaction of $1,543,506.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 199,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,922,839.96. This represents a 20.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 39,124 shares of company stock worth $693,846 and sold 336,533 shares worth $9,373,336.

Institutional Trading of Maplight Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLT. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $56,672,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,026,000. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,060,000. Finally, 5AM Venture Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,687,000.

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We were founded by globally recognized leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research to address the lack of circuit-specific pharmacotherapies available for patients. Our discovery platform holds the potential to fill this void by identifying neural circuits causally linked to disease and targeting those circuits for therapeutic modulation.