Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $11.27 and last traded at $12.97, with a volume of 1785298 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.56.

Maplight Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplight Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The ZEPHYR trial met its primary endpoint for the 210/3 mg twice-daily dose, which produced a statistically significant improvement in PANSS total score versus placebo. The dose also showed benefits on cognition, symptom severity and positive symptoms, with generally favorable tolerability. MapLight plans another potentially registrational trial and an FDA End-of-Phase 2 meeting. MapLight Announces Positive Topline Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see potential value after the selloff. HC Wainwright retained a “buy” rating with a $26 price target, while Morgan Stanley maintained “equal weight” with a $21 target—both above the recent trading level, although each firm reduced its target substantially. Analyst Rating Reports
• Neutral Sentiment: The twice-daily regimen’s success may preserve a development path for ML-007C-MA, but the results are not yet sufficient for approval. MapLight expects to conduct another trial to replicate the findings before pursuing registration.
• Negative Sentiment: The key disappointment was the once-daily dosing arm, which failed to show statistically significant symptom improvement. Investors viewed this as a major setback because a once-daily treatment could have offered a simpler, more convenient option. The news erased more than $1 billion in market value and sharply reduced confidence in the program. MapLight Once-Daily Trial Report
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm has announced an investor fraud investigation opportunity related to MapLight. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but such announcements can add legal and reputational uncertainty to an already volatile stock. Investor Fraud Investigation Notice

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPLT. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Maplight Therapeutics from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on Maplight Therapeutics from $45.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Maplight Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.42.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Up 24.3%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.00. The company has a market cap of $524.65 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.30.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Troy Cox acquired 15,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.52 per share, for a total transaction of $148,702.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,702.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Vishwas Setia sold 10,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total transaction of $298,327.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 356,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,060,669.44. The trade was a 2.88% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 379,987 shares of company stock worth $10,644,411 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

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

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

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.