Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Holdings in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) by 76.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 428,895 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 186,293 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.29% of 89bio worth $3,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of 89bio by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 129,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 4,125 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of 89bio by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of 89bio by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 248,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,314 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 89bio by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 810,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,341,000 after acquiring an additional 89,776 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 89bio by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period.

89bio Stock Up 8.2%

ETNB opened at $10.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.26. 89bio, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.16 and a 52 week high of $11.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -3.58 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.54) EPS. Analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 89bio presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $26.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In other 89bio news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $91,207.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 328,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,953,521.85. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.