Short Interest in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Grows By 12.2%

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

89bio Price Performance

ETNB opened at $6.31 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.22. 89bio has a one year low of $5.99 and a one year high of $16.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 89bio has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

Insider Transactions at 89bio

In related news, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.89 per share, with a total value of $39,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,236 shares in the company, valued at $3,718,052.04. This trade represents a 1.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,950. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of 89bio by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,158,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,108 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in 89bio in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,631,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in 89bio by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 3,006,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,245,000 after acquiring an additional 686,673 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of 89bio by 1,232.2% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 435,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 402,624 shares during the period. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 89bio in the 3rd quarter worth $2,224,000.

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.