89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $5.90 and last traded at $6.03, with a volume of 1083514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ETNB. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Raymond James upgraded shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.56.

89bio Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.16 and a 200-day moving average of $8.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a current ratio of 11.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $842.33 million, a P/E ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. The trade was a 41.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the sale, the insider now owns 271,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,764,196.17. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,062,000. Deep Track Capital LP grew its position in shares of 89bio by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 6,478,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,660,000 after acquiring an additional 3,711,737 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 89bio by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,052 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in 89bio by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,514,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,838 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at $7,972,000.

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.