89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.56.

ETNB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In related news, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,250. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETNB. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in 89bio by 206.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,236 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 89bio by 4,898.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 89bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP lifted its position in 89bio by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter.

89bio Trading Down 9.9 %

Shares of 89bio stock opened at $4.99 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $11.84. The firm has a market cap of $728.46 million, a PE ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.25.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Analysts expect that 89bio will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.