89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Short Interest Up 12.2% in January

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,790,000 shares, an increase of 12.2% from the December 31st total of 6,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 943,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ETNB shares. UBS Group increased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Raymond James raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.43.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ETNB traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $9.29. 2,546,883 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,278,073. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.19. The firm has a market cap of $985.91 million, a PE ratio of -3.19 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 52 week low of $5.99 and a 52 week high of $16.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.35 per share, for a total transaction of $83,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 466,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,070.60. This trade represents a 2.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 5,744,285 shares of company stock valued at $50,235,694. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in 89bio in the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in 89bio by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its position in 89bio by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 30,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of 89bio by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter.

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.