Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a growth of 5.7% from the July 31st total of 2,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 184,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.0 days. Approximately 15.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of ENTA traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 111,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,369. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $17.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.80. The stock has a market cap of $267.28 million, a PE ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 0.60.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.43) by $0.36. The business had revenue of $17.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.44 million. Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 160.27% and a negative return on equity of 63.75%. The company’s revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.27) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Enanta Pharmaceuticals will post -5.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Enanta Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Scott T. Rottinghaus sold 5,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.08, for a total value of $91,805.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott T. Rottinghaus sold 5,375 shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.08, for a total value of $91,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Scott T. Rottinghaus sold 4,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.07, for a total value of $64,785.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,499.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,940 shares of company stock worth $246,181. 13.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $118,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $191,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 511.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 9,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 35.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,892 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENTA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. JMP Securities lowered their price target on Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

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.