89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $4.16 and last traded at $5.54, with a volume of 4287191 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upgraded 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on 89bio in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 89bio has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.56.

89bio Stock Up 14.7 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $808.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Insider Activity

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 Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in 89bio by 206.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 89bio by 4,898.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 7,495 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in 89bio during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000.

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.