89BIO $ETNB Shares Acquired by RA Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• RA Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in 89BIO by 40.3%, owning nearly 19.9 million shares worth approximately $144.6 million, making it the firm's 10th largest holding.
• Analyst ratings for 89BIO are mixed, with two analysts giving it a Strong Buy, while Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of America have set lower price targets of $11.00 and $29.00 respectively.
• 89BIO recently reported a quarterly loss of ($0.71) earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations by ($0.22).

RA Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in 89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,889,683 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,714,285 shares during the period. 89BIO comprises about 2.4% of RA Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. RA Capital Management L.P. owned about 13.62% of 89BIO worth $144,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of 89BIO by 9,265.1% during 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 boosted its position in 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. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in 89BIO in the fourth quarter valued at about $87,000. Sandia Investment Management LP boosted its position in 89BIO by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in 89BIO in the first quarter valued at about $89,000.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of 89BIO from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of 89BIO from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89BIO in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of 89BIO in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

89BIO Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:ETNB traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,927,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,414. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.64 and its 200-day moving average is $8.77. 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 one year low of $4.16 and a one year high of $11.84. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 1.27.

89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.48) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 89BIO will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.