Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,600,000 shares, a decline of 27.2% from the February 13th total of 3,570,000 shares. Currently, 13.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 562,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enanta Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Jay R. Luly bought 45,000 shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.69 per share, with a total value of $256,050.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 846,638 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,370.22. This trade represents a 5.61 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 13.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Enanta Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ENTA. Krensavage Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Krensavage Asset Management LLC now owns 1,498,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,520,000 after buying an additional 246,736 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,968,000. 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 valued at $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 79,197 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 896,987 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 165,692 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ENTA. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enanta Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ENTA traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.17. 156,270 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 277,516. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.57. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $4.71 and a 12 month high of $17.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 0.48.

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

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.