Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) Short Interest Up 12.5% in December

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,680,000 shares, a growth of 12.5% from the December 15th total of 5,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 975,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRX opened at $22.78 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $13.12 and a 1-year high of $24.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.86.

Insider Activity at Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Steve Miller sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gary Ingenito sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 18.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,500 shares of company stock worth $1,754,140. Corporate insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 276.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,812 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 24,102 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,273,000. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc boosted its stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 149,406 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.22% of the company’s stock.

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.