Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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 set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ ENTA traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,589. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $4.71 and a 52-week high of $17.80. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.30 million, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.54.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Enanta Pharmaceuticals will post -5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 acquired at an average price of $5.69 per share, for a total transaction of $256,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 846,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,370.22. This represents a 5.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 85,082 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 49,050 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 294.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 20,478 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $122,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,946,000 after purchasing an additional 14,575 shares during the period. 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.