Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MPLT shares. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “sell (e)” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of MPLT opened at $17.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $783.59 million and a PE ratio of -0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.67. Maplight Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $12.24 and a 1 year high of $21.55.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported ($37.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.86) by ($35.32).

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Maplight Therapeutics news, Director George Pavlov acquired 9,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.86 per share, with a total value of $177,171.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $446,500. This trade represents a 65.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Malenka sold 11,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.42, for a total value of $207,482.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 325,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,001,143.90. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 39,124 shares of company stock worth $693,846 and have sold 74,612 shares worth $1,368,065.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $205,000.

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.