Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 3,176 Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,176 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 25.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 64,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 13,054 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $165,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 19.0% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 34,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 62.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. 79.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steve Miller sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 686,996 shares in the company, valued at $15,065,822.28. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary Ingenito sold 12,000 shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $272,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,603.52. This represents a 18.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,754,140. Insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPRX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRX opened at $23.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.85. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.12 and a 1 year high of $24.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.80.

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.