89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Trading 5.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)’s share price was up 5.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.18 and last traded at $7.16. Approximately 402,651 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,417,472 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETNB. Raymond James upgraded 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 89bio has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.56.

89bio Stock Up 5.2 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.18 and a 200-day moving average of $8.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -2.46 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Equities research analysts anticipate that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $98,250. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,764,196.17. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

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

89bio Company Profile

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.