JMP Securities analyst Liisa Bayko said she was impressed with the preclinical data presented by Enanta (ENTA) at the EASL meeting on its HBV core inhibitor candidate EDP-514. When comparing to other core inhibitors in development, EDP-514 "appears at least as potent as the competition" with the exception of Assembly Biosciences' (ASMB) third-generation capsid inhibitor ABI-H3733, said Bayko, who added that EDP-514 has a superior reduction in HBV viral load than ABI-H3733 and a lower EC50 level than Assembly's first- and second-generation inhibitors. Bayko keeps an Outperform rating and $116 price target on Enanta shares.