Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Enanta Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ ENTA opened at $5.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.23 million, a P/E ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 0.54. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $4.71 and a 52-week high of $17.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.87 and a 200-day moving average of $9.61.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.11. Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 73.02% and a negative net margin of 171.57%. As a group, analysts forecast that Enanta Pharmaceuticals will post -5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jay R. Luly sold 5,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.06, for a total transaction of $41,444.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 801,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,461,202.28. This represents a 0.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 13.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 4,933.7% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,329 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $122,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 22,260 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 3,137 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.