89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Gap Up to $16.52

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.52, but opened at $17.01. 89bio shares last traded at $17.68, with a volume of 163,180 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETNB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of 89bio from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Sunday, July 2nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of 89bio from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.44.

89bio Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.26 and its 200-day moving average is $16.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 18.96, a current ratio of 18.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.08). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that 89bio, Inc. will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at 89bio

In related news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 15,000 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,739,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 89bio news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,978 shares in the company, valued at $5,739,560. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Laporte sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.80, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,750 shares of company stock valued at $646,938 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 89bio by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,955,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,741 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in 89bio by 272.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,650,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,121,000 after buying an additional 3,400,611 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in 89bio by 51.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,988,000 after buying an additional 1,572,817 shares during the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 89bio by 8.3% during the second quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 2,393,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,352,000 after buying an additional 182,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in 89bio during the first quarter worth $35,838,000.

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. The company's 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.