89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Sold by BVF Inc. IL

BVF Inc. IL lowered its stake in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,333,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,477,746 shares during the period. 89bio accounts for 1.1% of BVF Inc. IL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. BVF Inc. IL owned 4.08% of 89bio worth $33,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of 89bio by 206.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in 89bio during the 4th quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in 89bio by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 6,132 shares during the period.

89bio Price Performance

Shares of ETNB stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.75. 771,153 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,354,379. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -2.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $7.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.16. 89bio, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.16 and a 1-year high of $11.84.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of the 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 owns 328,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,953,521.85. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 89bio to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.25.

89bio 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.