Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Sell (D-)" Rating for 89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB)

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Raymond James upgraded 89bio to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.43.

89bio Stock Up 1.0 %

89bio stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $11.08. The stock had a trading volume of 849,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,899,743. 89bio has a 52 week low of $5.99 and a 52 week high of $16.63. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In other news, CEO Rohan Palekar bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.89 per share, for a total transaction of $39,450.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,718,052.04. The trade was a 1.07 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 10,000 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $80,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 5,734,285 shares of company stock worth $50,152,194 in the last three months. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in 89bio by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,514,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,838 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,211,052 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP raised its position in shares of 89bio by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,478,061 shares of the company's stock worth $58,478,000 after acquiring an additional 99,513 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 89bio by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,692,331 shares of the company's stock worth $44,514,000 after acquiring an additional 686,054 shares in the last quarter.

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.