Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.42 EPS

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($2.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($1.42), Zacks reports.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.37. 29,432 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 191,233. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $833.22 million and a PE ratio of -0.49. Maplight Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $12.24 and a 12 month high of $21.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplight Therapeutics

In other news, Director George Pavlov acquired 9,920 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.86 per share, for a total transaction of $177,171.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,500. The trade was a 65.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Malenka sold 11,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.42, for a total value of $207,482.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 325,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,001,143.90. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 39,124 shares of company stock worth $693,846 and have sold 74,612 shares worth $1,368,065.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $172,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPLT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Maplight Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “sell (e)” rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.80.

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.