89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Down 8.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) fell 8.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $7.31 and last traded at $7.37. 203,195 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,226,712 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ETNB. Raymond James raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on 89bio in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.56.

89bio Trading Down 6.5 %

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 price is $9.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $992.69 million, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.17.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted 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). Equities research analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares in the company, valued at $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total transaction of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,764,196.17. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of 89bio by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 89bio by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in 89bio by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 140,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in 89bio by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of 89bio by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period.

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.