Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Trading Down 6.6% – Here’s Why

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT)’s stock price dropped 6.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $28.48 and last traded at $28.3450. Approximately 176,584 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 243,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MPLT. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Craig Hallum began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Maplight Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.78.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Down 6.3%

The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.42.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.34) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.91) by ($0.43). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Maplight Therapeutics

In other Maplight Therapeutics news, CEO Christopher A. Kroeger sold 118,235 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total value of $3,214,809.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,394,094 shares in the company, valued at $37,905,415.86. This represents a 7.82% 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, insider Jonathan Gillis sold 51,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.74, for a total value of $1,543,506.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 495,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,461. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplight Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics by 10.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 39,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $172,000.

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.