89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.56.

89bio Stock Up 13.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,764,196.17. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETNB. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in 89bio by 206.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 4,236 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during 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.