89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Receives Sell (D-) Rating from Weiss Ratings

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB)‘s stock had its “sell (d-)” rating reiterated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ETNB. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 89bio presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.43.

89bio Stock Down 3.2 %

ETNB stock opened at $9.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.19. The company has a market cap of $985.91 million, a PE ratio of -3.19 and a beta of 1.14. 89bio has a twelve month low of $5.99 and a twelve month high of $16.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rohan Palekar bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.89 per share, for a total transaction of $39,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,236 shares in the company, valued at $3,718,052.04. The trade was a 1.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,714,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares in the company, valued at $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 5,744,285 shares of company stock valued at $50,235,694. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in 89bio during the 3rd quarter valued at about $160,000.

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.