89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Up 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) rose 5.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.07 and last traded at $7.98. Approximately 607,647 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,434,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ETNB shares. Raymond James raised 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 89bio currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.29.

89bio Price Performance

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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $8.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.87 and a beta of 1.17.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its 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). On average, research analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at 89bio

In other news, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 5,000 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $98,250. The trade was a 50.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,100,291.25. This trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of 89bio by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,514,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,838 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in 89bio by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,785,000 after buying an additional 2,211,052 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP increased its stake in 89bio by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,478,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,478,000 after buying an additional 99,513 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP raised its position in shares of 89bio by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 6,478,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,660,000 after buying an additional 3,711,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 89bio by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,692,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,514,000 after acquiring an additional 686,054 shares during the period.

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.