Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETON - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $20.08, but opened at $21.00. Eton Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $20.45, with a volume of 69,507 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Eton Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.64. The firm has a market cap of $506.86 million, a PE ratio of -85.91 and a beta of 1.22.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). Eton Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 36.29% and a negative net margin of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $17.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.33 million. Analysts forecast that Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eton Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% during the first quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,175,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,264,000 after acquiring an additional 57,468 shares during the period. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,071,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 402,428 shares of the company's stock worth $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 153,923 shares during the last quarter. Cannell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $5,079,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals by 156.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 355,929 shares of the company's stock worth $4,620,000 after buying an additional 217,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.86% of the company's stock.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on developing, acquiring, and commercializing pharmaceutical products for rare diseases. The company offers ALKINDI SPRINKLE, a replacement therapy for adrenocortical insufficiency in children under 17 years of age; Carglumic Acid for the treatment of acute and chronic hyperammonemia due to N-acetylglutamate Synthase deficiency; Betaine Anhydrous for the treatment of homocystinuria; and Nitisinone for the treatment of tyrosinemia type 1.