89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.43.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ETNB. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

89bio Stock Performance

89bio stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 849,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,899,743. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.42. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. 89bio has a twelve month low of $5.99 and a twelve month high of $16.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 89bio news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares in the company, valued at $171,100,291.25. The trade was a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.89 per share, for a total transaction of $39,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 471,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,718,052.04. This represents a 1.07 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 5,734,285 shares of company stock valued at $50,152,194 over the last 90 days. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in 89bio by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 178,691 shares of the company's stock worth $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 37,693 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in 89bio by 640.1% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 394,826 shares of the company's stock worth $3,088,000 after buying an additional 341,479 shares during the period. Stempoint Capital LP acquired a new stake in 89bio during the 4th quarter worth about $4,268,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 89bio by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company's stock worth $79,785,000 after buying an additional 2,211,052 shares during the period. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP raised its holdings in 89bio by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period.

89bio Company Profile

89bio, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of liver and cardio-metabolic diseases. Its lead product candidate is pegozafermin, a glycoPEGylated analog of fibroblast growth factor 21 for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; and for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia.