89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Trading 4.9% Higher - What's Next?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.41 and last traded at $8.41. Approximately 878,957 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 1,189,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 89bio currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.56.

89bio Stock Down 10.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.42.

Remove Ads

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). On average, equities research analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. This trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,764,196.17. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in 89bio during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,062,000. Deep Track Capital LP raised its stake in 89bio by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 6,478,249 shares of the company's stock worth $50,660,000 after acquiring an additional 3,711,737 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 89bio by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,052 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of 89bio by 14.2% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,158,218 shares of the company's stock worth $112,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,972,000.

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.