Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $21.32 Million Stock Position in 89BIO $ETNB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly increased its stake in 89BIO by 406.2% during the second quarter, now holding a position worth approximately $21.32 million.
• Despite recent interest from various institutional investors, several brokerages have downgraded their ratings on 89BIO, with an average target price now set at $25.81.
• 89BIO reported a loss of ($0.71) earnings per share in its latest quarterly results, missing consensus estimates, and is projected to post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in 89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Free Report) by 406.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,171,194 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,742,299 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 1.49% of 89BIO worth $21,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in 89BIO by 9,265.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 5,837 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 89BIO by 4,898.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of 89BIO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of 89BIO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of 89BIO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $93,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ETNB. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on 89BIO from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial cut 89BIO from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their target price on 89BIO from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89BIO in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered 89BIO from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 89BIO currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.81.

89BIO Stock Performance

ETNB opened at $14.87 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.85. 89BIO has a 1 year low of $4.16 and a 1 year high of $15.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.12 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 15.19 and a quick ratio of 15.19.

89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.22). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.48) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that 89BIO will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89BIO

In other news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $115,280.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 309,364 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,191.28. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.