BVF Inc. IL Invests $28.12 Million in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

BVF Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,846,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,117,000. BVF Inc. IL owned 2.53% of 89bio as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,172,741 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in 89bio during the first quarter worth about $35,838,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in 89bio during the first quarter worth about $33,666,000. Boxer Capital LLC grew its holdings in 89bio by 50.0% during the first quarter. Boxer Capital LLC now owns 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,983,000 after acquiring an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 89bio by 69.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,671,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,678,000 after acquiring an additional 683,232 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathleen Laporte sold 12,500 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.80, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ETNB. Evercore ISI began coverage on 89bio in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on 89bio in a report on Monday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on 89bio from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 10th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on 89bio from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Sunday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on 89bio from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.44.

89bio Stock Performance

NASDAQ ETNB opened at $16.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -7.91 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.68. 89bio, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.74 and a 1-year high of $22.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 18.96 and a quick ratio of 18.96.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.08). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 89bio, Inc. will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

89bio 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.