Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.40 EPS

Key Points

• Enanta Pharmaceuticals reported a loss of ($0.85) earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations of ($1.10) by $0.25.
• The company's stock declined 5.9% during mid-day trading, closing at $6.49.
• Institutional investors, including Millennium Management and AQR Capital Management, have significantly increased their stakes in Enanta Pharmaceuticals recently, demonstrating increased confidence in the company.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $0.40, Zacks reports. Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 149.57% and a negative return on equity of 79.83%. The company had revenue of $18.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.21 million.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of ENTA opened at $6.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.76 million, a P/E ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $7.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.44. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $4.09 and a 1 year high of $13.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 130,410 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 6,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 674.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 357,109 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 311,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Enanta Pharmaceuticals by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,346,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,435,000 after purchasing an additional 449,945 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.