89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.35, but opened at $8.66. 89bio shares last traded at $8.40, with a volume of 142,930 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on 89bio in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James raised 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.63.

89bio Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -2.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Research analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,764,196.17. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,250. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of 89bio by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 178,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 37,693 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of 89bio by 640.1% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 394,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,088,000 after buying an additional 341,479 shares during the period. Stempoint Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio in the fourth quarter worth about $4,268,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 89bio by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,785,000 after buying an additional 2,211,052 shares during the period. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of 89bio by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period.

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.