As of December 31, 2022, Jennison Associates LLC has reduced its stock holdings in Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) by a substantial 27.6%, according to the company’s most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. After selling a total of 115,160 shares over the reporting period, the fund now owns only 301,853 shares of Catalent stock compared to their previous holdings.
This news comes amidst increasing interest in the pharmaceutical industry due to current global events. Catalent, Inc., is an essential holding company that provides delivery technologies and manufacturing solutions for drugs, biologics, gene therapies as well as consumer health products. The company operates through four primary segments of Softgel and Oral Technologies, Biologics, Oral and Specialty Delivery and Clinical Supply Services.
However, recent reports also suggest insider activity within the company that may have contributed to this unusual sell-off by Jennison Associates LLC. Senior Vice President Mario Gargiulo recently sold 678 shares on Monday, May 1st at $49.86 per share resulting in a total transaction value of $33,805.08 – subtracting from his prior holding of 5,676 shares valued at approximately $283,005.36 or further fueling speculation surrounding insider trading activities by high-level executives within Catalent.
The facts speak for themselves; Manja Boerman – another insider – sold precisely 1,446 shares right after Gargiulo’s transaction which inevitably begs further investigation into whether or not there is any degree of collusion between these executives’ recent actions and their intimate understanding of the Company’s trajectory.
In conclusion – while partial ownership can be seen across different shareholders on either side of Catalent’s corporate landscape – Jennison Associates LLC has decided to put less stake on Catalent stocks while exchanging it for other long-term investments.
However low this percentage may seem when compared to their other holdings, it is still a considerable deviation as the company still accounted for $13,586,000 of Jennison Associates LLC’s portfolio as of December 31st. Therefore, it would be unwise to ignore insider activities within the Company and Jenisson Associates’s move, which could indicate confidence issues in the Catalent stock among top personnel.
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Institutional Investors Show Strong Interest in Catalent, Inc. Despite Industry Volatility
Institutional investors have been making significant moves in the world of stock trading, and the case of Catalent, Inc. is no exception. Victory Capital Management has grown its position in Catalent by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, now owning a valuable 77,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors has also grown its position by 1.6% in the same period and now owns over one million shares of CTLT’s stock worth a staggering $50,003,000.
Aside from these two prominent companies, other notable institutional investors are taking interest in Catalent as well. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp., for instance, has grown its position in Catalent by 32.4% in the fourth quarter and now owns over 28k shares of stocks worth $1,263K after purchasing an additional 6,860 shares during that time period.
Finally EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position by a staggering 23k%, owning just under 1400 shares after purchasing an additional 1391 shares during Q4. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina also bet on CTLT investments at this time via direct purchase.
Shares of CTLT opened at $31.86 on Wednesday and have been experiencing sensitivity to industry fluctuations despite notable high points like their 12-month high share price at $115.33 and market cap resting at a solid $5.74 billion.
Of several research firms weighing in on Catalent recently; StockNews.com upgraded its initial rating to “sell” on April 15th while Barclays decreased their price objective from $70 to $40 on April 17th respectively demonstrating opposing views on future investment stability for this biopharmaceuticals firm which specialize in clinical supply chain services encompassing mission-critical functions such as clinical trial material manufacturing, packaging, labeling and distribution.
