89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Down 5.7% – What’s Next?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)’s share price fell 5.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $8.78 and last traded at $8.63. 47,850 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 1,178,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETNB has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup assumed coverage on 89bio in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 89bio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.56.

89bio Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Research analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 89bio news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total transaction of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,764,196.17. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. The trade was a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in 89bio by 206.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 89bio during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Sandia Investment Management LP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter worth about $87,000.

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. 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.