Short Interest in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Increases By 5.5%

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,500,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the July 15th total of 6,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 985,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

89bio Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ETNB traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $8.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,704. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.40 and a 200-day moving average of $9.43. The company has a market capitalization of $791.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 1.10. 89bio has a 12-month low of $6.57 and a 12-month high of $18.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 15.03 and a quick ratio of 15.03.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.08. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.52) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that 89bio will post -2.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ETNB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in 89bio in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of 89bio by 30.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 30,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 7,203 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of 89bio by 12.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in 89bio during the second quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 89bio by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ETNB. Raymond James lifted their price objective on 89bio from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 89bio from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on 89bio from $37.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 89bio presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.14.

About 89bio

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.

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