Here's How Much Investing $1,000 In Catalyst Pharmaceuticals In 2010 Would Be Worth Today

Investors who owned stocks in the 2010s generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return for the decade was 250.5%. But there’s no question some big-name stocks did much better than others along the way.

Catalyst’s Solid Decade: One stock that kept pace over the last decade was biopharmaceutical company Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc CPRX.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals develops treatments for rare diseases, such as autoimmune disorder Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS). The big news for Catalyst in the past decade came in 2018 when the company’s Firdapse became the first LEMS treatment ever approved in the U.S. Firdapse was subsequently approved in Japan in 2019.

In early 2020, Catalyst aggressively expanded its sales team to help monetize Firdapse, and the company is actively undergoing trials to potentially expand Firdapse’s label to muscle-specific kinase myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG) and other indications.

Ten years ago, Catalyst shares were trading at around $1.13, but they experienced extreme volatility throughout the past decade. Catalyst shares plummeted to their decade low of just 37 cents by the end of 2012 before going on a tear over the next three years.

Catalyst eventually peaked at $5.80 in mid-2015 before the bottom fell out of the stock once again. Shares dropped as low as 51 cents by mid-2016 and then began to rally again.

2020 And Beyond: From mid-2016 to mid-2019, Catalyst shares rallied from well under $1 to their high point of the decade at $7.67 following the Firdapse approvals. In March, Firdapse dipped back down to $2.55 during the COVID-19 sell-off before rebounding to above $4.

Despite the extreme volatility, Catalyst shares performed nearly in-line with the overall S&P 500 over the past 10 years. In fact, $1,000 worth of Catalyst stock in 2010 would be worth $3,589 today.

Looking ahead, analysts expect significant gains for Catalyst in the next 12 months. The average price target among the six analysts covering the stock is $8.50, suggesting 109.6% upside from current levels.

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