89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Down 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) fell 6.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $5.21 and last traded at $5.42. 740,490 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 1,260,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETNB. Citigroup began 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 89bio has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.56.

89bio Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.35. The company has a market capitalization of $801.45 million, a PE ratio of -1.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Equities analysts anticipate that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,250. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 89bio by 4,898.7% in 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 89bio by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 334,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 15,760 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in 89bio by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 8,570 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in 89bio by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 178,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 37,693 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in 89bio by 640.1% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 394,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,088,000 after purchasing an additional 341,479 shares during the period.

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.