89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Trading 5.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)’s share price was up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.18 and last traded at $7.16. Approximately 402,651 shares were traded during 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 equities research analysts have recently commented on ETNB shares. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 89bio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.56.

89bio Stock Up 5.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.41.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted its quarterly 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). Analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 89bio news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 89bio by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 89bio by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of 89bio by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 raised its position in shares of 89bio by 28.5% during 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. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,200 shares in 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.