Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on 89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Research analysts at Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of 89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ETNB. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.43.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of ETNB stock opened at $11.66 on Tuesday. 89bio has a 12-month low of $5.99 and a 12-month high of $16.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.22. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -4.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Insider Transactions at 89bio

In related news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,764,196.17. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 5,744,285 shares of company stock worth $50,235,694 over the last 90 days. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ETNB. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in 89bio in the second quarter valued at $327,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of 89bio by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 3,557 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of 89bio by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 30,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in 89bio during the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in 89bio by 21.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter.

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.