89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB) Given "Sell (D-)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• 89BIO has received a "sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, impacting investor sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the negative rating, Bank of America and Royal Bank Of Canada have given the stock a "buy" and "sector perform" rating respectively, albeit with decreased price targets.
• The company reported a loss of ($0.71) earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations and leading to revised forecasts of -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of 89BIO from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of 89BIO from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 89BIO has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.63.

89BIO Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ETNB traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,186. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.71 and its 200 day moving average is $8.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 15.19 and a current ratio of 15.19. 89BIO has a 52 week low of $4.16 and a 52 week high of $11.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 1.27.

89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.22). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.48) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 89BIO will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at 89BIO

In other 89BIO news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $115,280.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 309,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,409,191.28. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of 89BIO by 9,265.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 5,837 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of 89BIO in the second quarter valued at $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 89BIO by 4,898.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of 89BIO by 213.8% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 4,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of 89BIO in the fourth quarter valued at $87,000.

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.