Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.43 EPS

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($1.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.91) by ($0.43), FiscalAI reports.

Maplight Therapeutics Trading Down 1.9%

MPLT traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.73. 176,870 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 315,265. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.24. Maplight Therapeutics has a one year low of $12.24 and a one year high of $33.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “sell (e)” rating for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anatol Kreitzer sold 45,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.66, for a total transaction of $1,347,216.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 211,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,263,895.40. This trade represents a 17.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, CEO Christopher A. Kroeger sold 34,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.69, for a total transaction of $952,840.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,526,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,263,496.21. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $441,168 and have sold 391,204 shares valued at $11,125,068. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLT. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,745,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,835,000. Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,026,000.

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.