Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 851,431 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 199% from the previous session’s volume of 285,065 shares.The stock last traded at $73.29 and had previously closed at $70.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRAX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.33.

Praxis Precision Medicines Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.09 and a beta of 2.67.

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

Insider Transactions at Praxis Precision Medicines

In other Praxis Precision Medicines news, General Counsel Alex Nemiroff sold 8,239 shares of Praxis Precision Medicines stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $660,767.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 10,301 shares in the company, valued at $826,140.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lauren Mastrocola sold 5,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,031.14. This trade represents a 48.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Praxis Precision Medicines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Praxis Precision Medicines during the second quarter valued at about $2,048,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Praxis Precision Medicines in the second quarter worth $869,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Praxis Precision Medicines by 14,500.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 22,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 22,040 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 46.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 51,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 16,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ovata Capital Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 100.0% in the second quarter. Ovata Capital Management Ltd now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.84% of the company’s stock.

Praxis Precision Medicines Company Profile

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.