Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) Trading 5.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX)’s stock price shot up 5.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $82.07 and last traded at $80.98. 168,566 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 340,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRAX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.11.

Praxis Precision Medicines Trading Up 4.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.79 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.32 and a 200-day moving average of $66.50.

Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($2.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by ($0.74). Praxis Precision Medicines had a negative net margin of 9,409.22% and a negative return on equity of 54.86%. The company had revenue of $0.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.70) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. will post -10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Praxis Precision Medicines

In related news, insider Lauren Mastrocola sold 5,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.78, for a total transaction of $424,274.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,031.14. This represents a 48.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Alex Nemiroff sold 8,239 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $660,767.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 10,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,140.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 6.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Praxis Precision Medicines by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Praxis Precision Medicines during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Praxis Precision Medicines by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors own 67.84% of the company’s stock.

About Praxis Precision Medicines

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders characterized by neuronal excitation-inhibition imbalance. It is developing ulixacaltamide, a small molecule inhibitor of T-type calcium channels that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of essential tremor; PRAX-562 for the treatment of pediatric patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE); and PRAX-628 to treat focal epilepsy.