Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 102,646 Shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 297,106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,646 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ENTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 53.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 243,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 85,082 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 135,954 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 67,040 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 49,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enanta Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.25.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ENTA stock opened at $5.18 on Thursday. Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.09 and a 52 week high of $17.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.74. The company has a market capitalization of $110.50 million, a PE ratio of -1.05 and a beta of 0.81.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by ($0.02). Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 75.53% and a negative net margin of 157.57%. The business had revenue of $14.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.96 million. On average, analysts forecast that Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.65 EPS for the current year.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals 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.