Woodline Partners LP Buys 341,479 Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB - Free Report) by 640.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 394,826 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 341,479 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.37% of 89bio worth $3,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETNB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 89bio by 77.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 43,384 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of 89bio by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 89bio by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 24,932 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of 89bio by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 129,980 shares of the company's stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 4,125 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETNB. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded 89bio to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on 89bio in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 89bio currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.43.

89bio Trading Down 0.5%

ETNB traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.76. The stock had a trading volume of 306,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,593. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $7.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 1.23. 89bio, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.16 and a 52 week high of $11.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a current ratio of 11.66.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 328,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,953,521.85. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

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.