Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $61.50 and last traded at $61.07, with a volume of 3232588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTLT shares. Baird R W lowered shares of Catalent from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com cut Catalent from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.50 target price on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.40.

Catalent Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of -26.98, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Catalent had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 9.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Catalent, Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Catalent

In other Catalent news, insider David Mcerlane sold 1,994 shares of Catalent stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total transaction of $119,580.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,150.88. The trade was a 5.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michelle R. Ryan sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,849.50. This represents a 20.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,114 shares of company stock worth $305,931 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Catalent

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTLT. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Catalent by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,451,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,315,000 after buying an additional 113,095 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Catalent by 129.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,079,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,416,000 after buying an additional 2,299,784 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. increased its position in Catalent by 3.4% during the third quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 2,131,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,082,000 after acquiring an additional 69,875 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Catalent by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,930,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,559,000 after purchasing an additional 250,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Catalent by 181.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,813,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,388,000 after buying an additional 1,169,044 shares during the last quarter.

About Catalent

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Biologics, and Pharma and Consumer Health. The Biologics segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing for biologic proteins, cell gene, and other nucleic acid therapies; pDNA, iPSCs, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; formulation, development, and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges; and analytical development and testing services for large molecules.