89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Stock Price Up 8.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) shot up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.67 and last traded at $9.45. 1,627,349 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 3,062,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ETNB. Raymond James raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 89bio presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

89bio Trading Up 10.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a current ratio of 11.66. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 89bio news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,764,196.17. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.35 per share, with a total value of $83,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 466,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,070.60. The trade was a 2.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $235,700 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ETNB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in 89bio by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 140,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of 89bio by 12.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 3,557 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of 89bio by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 129,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 4,125 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 89bio by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,562 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in 89bio by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter.

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.