89BIO $ETNB Stake Cut by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in 89BIO by 30.8%, bringing its total holdings to 217,752 shares valued at approximately $2.14 million.
• Several hedge funds, including MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd., also adjusted their positions in 89BIO, with some increasing their shareholdings during recent quarters.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on 89BIO, with a current consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $28.00 despite recent earnings misses.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in 89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,752 shares of the company's stock after selling 97,020 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.15% of 89BIO worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 89BIO by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 19,889,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,598,000 after buying an additional 5,714,285 shares during the period. Beck Bode LLC bought a new stake in shares of 89BIO during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,199,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of 89BIO during the first quarter valued at about $11,273,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 89BIO by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,163,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in shares of 89BIO during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,873,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ETNB. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on 89BIO from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89BIO in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 89BIO from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright initiated coverage on 89BIO in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 89BIO presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the insider directly owned 309,364 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,191.28. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

89BIO Stock Up 85.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ETNB traded up $6.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $14.96. 84,781,847 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,992. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of -4.14 and a beta of 1.27. 89BIO has a twelve month low of $4.16 and a twelve month high of $15.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.75. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.22). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.48) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that 89BIO will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.