Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 132,638 Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,207,608 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 132,638 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.08% of 89bio worth $17,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of 89bio by 77.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,467 shares of the company's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 43,384 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of 89bio during the fourth quarter worth $1,897,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in 89bio by 228.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 149,479 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in 89bio by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the period.

89bio Trading Up 2.9 %

ETNB stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.81. 180,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,311,471. The company has a market cap of $994.15 million, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.25. 89bio, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.16 and a 52-week high of $11.84. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $7.79 and its 200-day moving average is $8.17.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.42). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETNB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on 89bio in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $91,207.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 328,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,953,521.85. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 acquired at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $171,100,291.25. This trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

89bio 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.