Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) Shares Down 7.7% – Should You Sell?

Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETON) shares fell 7.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $62.80 and last traded at $63.1310. Approximately 517,354 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 460,329 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.75.

Eton Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $57.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.98 million. Eton Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.35% and a return on equity of 104.82%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul V. Maier sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $2,953,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 59,745 shares in the company, valued at $3,529,137.15. This represents a 45.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Krempa sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.07, for a total transaction of $229,421.62. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,991.67. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,166 shares of company stock valued at $4,809,672. 16.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETON. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $68,629,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,569,426. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC acquired a new position in Eton Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $14,015,083. Panoramic Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,537,000. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eton Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $6,181,041. 27.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.