Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $63.47 and last traded at $63.47, with a volume of 344071 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.50 target price on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Catalent from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Baird R W lowered Catalent from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.40.

Catalent Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.04.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.18). Catalent had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Catalent’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Catalent, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Catalent news, Director Michelle R. Ryan sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,849.50. This represents a 20.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Mcerlane sold 1,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total value of $119,580.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,150.88. This trade represents a 5.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,114 shares of company stock worth $305,931 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Catalent

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Catalent by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,451,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,315,000 after acquiring an additional 113,095 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Catalent by 129.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,079,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299,784 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. increased its holdings in Catalent by 3.4% in the third quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 2,131,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,082,000 after buying an additional 69,875 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Catalent by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,930,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,559,000 after purchasing an additional 250,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Catalent by 181.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,813,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,388,000 after buying an additional 1,169,044 shares in the last quarter.

Catalent Company Profile

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Biologics, and Pharma and Consumer Health. The Biologics segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing for biologic proteins, cell gene, and other nucleic acid therapies; pDNA, iPSCs, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; formulation, development, and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges; and analytical development and testing services for large molecules.