89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.56.

Several equities analysts have commented on ETNB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped 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. Raymond James raised 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 89bio news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 5,000 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $98,250. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in 89bio by 206.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP boosted its stake in 89bio by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter.

89bio Stock Up 3.5 %

ETNB stock opened at $8.47 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.17. 89bio has a 1 year low of $5.99 and a 1 year high of $13.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.44.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Sell-side analysts anticipate that 89bio will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.