89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Stock Price Up 5.8% – What’s Next?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) shares shot up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.07 and last traded at $7.98. 607,647 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,434,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ETNB shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.29.

89bio Stock Up 11.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -2.87 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a current 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). As a group, analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at 89bio

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 5,000 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following 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. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of 89bio by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 43,384 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,897,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 89bio by 228.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 149,479 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 89bio by 8.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,074,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,358,000 after purchasing an additional 160,356 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in 89bio by 2,153.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 73,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 70,129 shares during the period.

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.