Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENTA opened at $7.50 on Friday. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $4.71 and a fifty-two week high of $17.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.51. The company has a market capitalization of $159.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jay R. Luly sold 5,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.06, for a total value of $41,444.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 801,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,461,202.28. This trade represents a 0.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Krensavage Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 19.7% in the third quarter. Krensavage Asset Management LLC now owns 1,498,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,520,000 after purchasing an additional 246,736 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 930,087 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 79,197 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,946,000 after acquiring an additional 14,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 449,975 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,662,000 after acquiring an additional 27,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 243,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,524,000 after acquiring an additional 85,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

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.