89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.25.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 89bio news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total value of $91,207.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 328,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,953,521.85. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in 89bio by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,514,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,838 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 89bio by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,052 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP increased its stake in 89bio by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,478,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,513 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 89bio by 25.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,163,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deep Track Capital LP increased its stake in 89bio by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 6,478,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,711,737 shares in the last quarter.

89bio Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ETNB stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.70. 1,274,337 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,361,796. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $7.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.23. 89bio has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $11.84. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.54) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 89bio will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

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.