Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) Stock Keeps "Buy" Rating at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reiterated its “Buy” rating on Eton Pharmaceuticals and maintained a $70 price target, implying approximately 32.6% upside from the stock’s $52.81 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with the company carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $67.50. Eton recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.43 in EPS versus $0.19 expected and revenue of $37.59 million.
• Eton shares declined 1.0% during the reported session and remain highly valued at a P/E ratio of 139.2. Insiders sold roughly $4.8 million of stock over the prior three months, while institutional ownership stood at 27.86%.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price would indicate a potential upside of 32.55% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ETON. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eton Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $67.50.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0%

ETON stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,030. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Eton Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $14.27 and a 52-week high of $66.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.20 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.69.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.24. Eton Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 12.02% and a return on equity of 40.13%. The company had revenue of $37.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.11 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eton Pharmaceuticals will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eton Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider David Krempa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.07, for a total transaction of $1,626,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,025 shares in the company, valued at $2,409,216.75. This represents a 40.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul V. Maier sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 59,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,529,137.15. This represents a 45.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 79,166 shares of company stock worth $4,809,672 in the last three months. Insiders own 16.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETON. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,156,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals by 187.2% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 52,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 34,484 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,086,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $652,000. 27.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, acquiring, and commercializing treatments for rare diseases and other underserved patient populations. The company's strategy includes advancing proprietary product candidates and obtaining rights to established medicines that can address unmet medical needs.

Eton's portfolio has included products such as Eprontia (topiramate) oral solution for certain seizure disorders and migraine prevention, Biorphen (phenylephrine hydrochloride) injection for the treatment of clinically important hypotension, and specialty medicines used in the management of rare metabolic and endocrine conditions.