Is Enanta Pharmaceuticals's (NASDAQ:ENTA) Share Price Gain Of 145% Well Earned?

Some Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) shareholders are probably rather concerned to see the share price fall 30% over the last three months. In contrast, the return over three years has been impressive. In fact, the share price is up a full 145% compared to three years ago. It's not uncommon to see a share price retrace a bit, after a big gain. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Enanta Pharmaceuticals

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Enanta Pharmaceuticals was able to grow its EPS at 29% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. We note that the 35% yearly (average) share price gain isn't too far from the EPS growth rate. Coincidence? Probably not. This suggests that sentiment and expectations have not changed drastically. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on Enanta Pharmaceuticals's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Enanta Pharmaceuticals had a tough year, with a total loss of 21%, against a market gain of about 8.6%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 6.3%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Before forming an opinion on Enanta Pharmaceuticals you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.

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Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.