Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) Cut to "Sell" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ENTA. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ENTA traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,589. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $5.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.50. The company has a market cap of $152.30 million, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.54. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $4.71 and a 12-month high of $17.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Enanta Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Jay R. Luly purchased 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 846,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,817,370.22. The trade was a 5.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 13.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ENTA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,202 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 4,933.7% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,329 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 4,243 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 15,881 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 6,518 shares in 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.