Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Trading 6.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT) shares traded up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.32 and last traded at $12.11. 42,700 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 452,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MPLT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $43.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $21.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Maplight Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $507.39 million and a PE ratio of -0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.01 and its 200-day moving average is $24.62.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Maplight Therapeutics

In other Maplight Therapeutics news, Director Troy Cox purchased 15,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.52 per share, for a total transaction of $148,702.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 15,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,702.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 22,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total value of $276,908.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 202,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,537,845.20. This represents a 9.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $7,622,000. Sanofi acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $16,020,000. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,672,000. 5AM Venture Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,687,000. Finally, Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,060,000.

About Maplight Therapeutics

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.