Short Interest in Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) Decreases By 27.2%

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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 daily volume of 562,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 13.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6 %

ENTA stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.65. The company had a trading volume of 344,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 497,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.86 million, a P/E ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 0.48. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $4.71 and a 52-week high of $17.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.65.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Enanta Pharmaceuticals will post -4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Insider Transactions at Enanta Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Jay R. Luly acquired 45,000 shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.69 per share, with a total value of $256,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 846,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,370.22. This trade represents a 5.61 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 13.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 117.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 15,726 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 8,501 shares during the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,908,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $192,000. 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.