Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $37.31 and last traded at $37.27, with a volume of 39655 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MPLT shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Maplight Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Maplight Therapeutics from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maplight Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

Maplight Therapeutics Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.62 and a 200-day moving average of $22.87.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Woodruff Lillie sold 24,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $713,564.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 243,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,001,622. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan Gillis sold 51,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 199,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,922,839.96. This trade 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. Insiders have sold 495,244 shares of company stock worth $14,079,461 in the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,672,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $49,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $34,026,000. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $17,060,000. Finally, 5AM Venture Management LLC bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,687,000.

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.