Enanta Pharmaceuticals Downgraded to Sell by StockNews.com

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) received a downgrade from investment analysts at StockNews.com, reducing its rating from "hold" to "sell" in a research note released on Tuesday.

In addition to this downgrade, several other brokerages have provided their insights on Enanta Pharmaceuticals. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating on the company, setting a target price of $21.00. Meanwhile, Robert W. Baird adjusted their target price from $26.00 to $20.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating. Additionally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a target price of $18.00 for the stock. As it stands, two analysts assigned a sell rating, three have given it a buy rating, and one analyst issued a strong buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enanta currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $17.25.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

During mid-day trading on Tuesday, ENTA shares increased by $0.69, reaching a price of $5.59. The trading volume for the day was 1,169,815 shares, a significant increase compared to the average volume of 524,326. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a market capitalization of approximately $119.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.02, and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty-day and 200-day simple moving averages are $5.87 and $9.61, respectively. The company has recorded a fifty-two week low of $4.71 and a high of $17.80.

On February 10th, Enanta Pharmaceuticals reported its latest earnings results, indicating a loss of ($1.05) per share. This was an improvement compared to analysts' expectations, which forecasted a loss of ($1.16) per share. The company's return on equity was reported at -73.02%, with a negative net margin of 171.57%. Analysts predict that the company will post earnings of -5.05 per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions

In recent news regarding insider trading, CEO Jay R. Luly sold 5,142 shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals on December 6th, receiving an average price of $8.06 per share, totaling $41,444.52 for the transaction. Post-sale, he retains ownership of 801,638 shares, valued at approximately $6,461,202.28, which reflects a decrease of 0.64% in his holdings. Official disclosures are available through SEC filings. Presently, company insiders own about 13.89% of the stock.

Institutional Investments Activity

Notable changes in institutional ownership have also been observed. In the fourth quarter, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals valued at around $26,000. US Bancorp DE significantly increased its ownership by 4,933.7% during the third quarter, now holding 4,329 shares valued at $45,000 after adding 4,243 shares. Intech Investment Management LLC also acquired a new position valued at approximately $58,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. and AlphaQuest LLC also made new acquisitions, with AlphaQuest increasing its stake by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Overall, approximately 94.99% of Enanta's stock is held by institutional investors.

About Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Enanta Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology firm focused on the discovery and development of small molecule drugs targeting viral infections and liver diseases. The company's product pipeline includes EDP-514, currently in phase 1b clinical trials for dealing with chronic hepatitis B virus infections. Additionally, EDP-938 and EDP-323 are undergoing phase II trials to treat respiratory syncytial virus, while EDP-235 targets human coronaviruses in phase II trials. Glecaprevir, another product, is already available in the market for chronic hepatitis C virus treatment.

Enanta, Pharmaceuticals, Stocks