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

Key Points

• Eton Pharmaceuticals has been upgraded from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, while another analyst raised it to a "buy" rating.
• The stock is currently trading at $20.71, with a one-year low of $7.25 and a high of $23.00, and has an average price target of $29.67.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings, missing the consensus estimate with a loss of $0.10 per share, despite revenue exceeding expectations at $18.93 million.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Eton Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.67.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of ETON traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,280. Eton Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $7.25 and a one year high of $23.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $555.44 million, a PE ratio of -129.44 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.21.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.09). Eton Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 7.10% and a negative return on equity of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $18.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eton Pharmaceuticals will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James R. Gruber sold 2,631 shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $42,148.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 204,753 shares in the company, valued at $3,280,143.06. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eton Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETON. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Eton Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $41,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $53,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $101,000. 27.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Eton Pharmaceuticals

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.

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