Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ETON. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Eton Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Eton Pharmaceuticals from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Eton Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Eton Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eton Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.75.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ETON opened at $68.40 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Eton Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $14.27 and a 1 year high of $70.64.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.19. Eton Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.35% and a return on equity of 104.82%. The business had revenue of $57.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.98 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Eton Pharmaceuticals will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eton Pharmaceuticals news, insider David Krempa sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.07, for a total value of $229,421.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,991.67. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul V. Maier sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $2,953,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 59,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,529,137.15. The trade was a 45.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 79,166 shares of company stock worth $4,809,672 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 16.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eton Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $68,629,000. EcoR1 Capital LLC increased its holdings in Eton Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 2,171,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,603,000 after purchasing an additional 141,394 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $42,569,426. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $14,015,083. Finally, Panoramic Capital LLC bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $7,537,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.86% of the company’s stock.

About Eton Pharmaceuticals

Eton Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for rare diseases and other conditions with limited treatment options. Its work includes bringing new medicines and reformulated or otherwise specialized drug products to market. The company’s products include Alkindi Sprinkle, a hydrocortisone granule formulation used to treat adrenal insufficiency, and Eprontia, an oral solution of topiramate used to treat certain seizure disorders and prevent migraines.