89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. Buys 5,714,285 Shares

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) 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 acquired at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction 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 $171,100,291.25. The trade was a 41.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

89bio Price Performance

Shares of ETNB traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $9.29. 2,546,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,278,073. The company has a market cap of $985.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.19 and a beta of 1.17. 89bio, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.63. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.84 and its 200 day moving average is $8.19.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 1.2% during 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. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted 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 worth $128,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 129,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 4,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday, January 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James raised 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.43.

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.