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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jay R. Luly acquired 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.69 per share, for a total transaction of $256,050.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 13.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Krensavage Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 19.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 246,736 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,968,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 930,087 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after buying an additional 79,197 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 896,987 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,158,000 after buying an additional 165,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,946,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.27 on Monday, hitting $6.38. The company had a trading volume of 171,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,781. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $4.71 and a 52 week high of $17.80. The company has a market cap of $136.13 million, a PE ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.62.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Enanta Pharmaceuticals will post -4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.