Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Given New $42.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 37.98% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MPLT. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Lifesci Capital upgraded Maplight Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Maplight Therapeutics from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maplight Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Maplight Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of MPLT traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $30.44. 304,907 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 256,377. Maplight Therapeutics has a one year low of $12.24 and a one year high of $33.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.88 and a 200-day moving average of $22.06.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.43). Sell-side analysts forecast that Maplight Therapeutics will post -5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 24,811 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $713,564.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 243,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,001,622. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Gillis sold 51,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.74, for a total transaction of $1,543,506.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 199,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,922,839.96. This represents a 20.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 495,244 shares of company stock worth $14,079,461. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

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