Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (MPLT) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MPLT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Guggenheim began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Maplight Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Maplight Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MPLT opened at $7.48 on Friday. Maplight Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $6.06 and a 1-year high of $40.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.97.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.40) by $0.08. On average, research analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics will post -5.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Kroeger sold 73,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.08, for a total transaction of $595,423.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,195,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,662,944.72. This trade represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Anatol Kreitzer sold 12,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.84, for a total transaction of $96,024.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 168,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,322,435.52. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,974 shares of company stock worth $990,690. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,809,708. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,741,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $26,161,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $7,622,000. Finally, 5AM Venture Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $34,048,394.

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

MapLight Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing medicines for people with serious brain disorders. Its research focuses on treatments intended to address symptoms that can be difficult to manage with existing therapies. The company’s investigational programs include ML-007 for schizophrenia and ML-004 for autism spectrum disorder. These candidates remain in development and are not approved medicines.