StockNews.com Upgrades Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) to “Hold”

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

ENTA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Enanta Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ENTA stock opened at $8.38 on Wednesday. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $4.71 and a 12 month high of $17.80. The company has a market capitalization of $178.75 million, a P/E ratio of -1.69 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.26.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.11. Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 157.57% and a negative return on equity of 75.53%. Sell-side analysts predict that Enanta Pharmaceuticals will post -4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enanta Pharmaceuticals

In other Enanta Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Jay R. Luly purchased 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.69 per share, with a total value of $256,050.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 846,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,370.22. This trade represents a 5.61 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 13.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 15,726 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 8,501 shares during the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,908,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

About Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers and develops small molecule drugs for the treatment of viral infections and liver diseases. Its product pipeline comprises EDP-514, which is in phase 1b clinical development for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus or HBV; EDP-938 and EDP-323, which is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus; EDP-235, which is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of human coronaviruses; and Glecaprevir, which is in the market for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis C virus or HCV.