Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $8.92 and traded as low as $6.95. Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $7.18, with a volume of 332,694 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ENTA. StockNews.com raised Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.25.

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Enanta Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $144.42 million, a PE ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 0.48. The business's 50 day moving average is $6.08 and its 200-day moving average is $8.83.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.11. Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 75.53% and a negative net margin of 157.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jay R. Luly acquired 45,000 shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 owns 846,638 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,370.22. This represents a 5.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 13.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 85,082 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,856 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 49,050 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 294.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 20,478 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 14,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.