89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Short Interest Up 12.2% in December

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,790,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the December 15th total of 6,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 943,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.33.

89bio Price Performance

Shares of ETNB stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $6.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,863,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,441. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. 89bio has a twelve month low of $5.99 and a twelve month high of $16.63. The stock has a market cap of $669.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.96 and a 200-day moving average of $8.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In other news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.35 per share, for a total transaction of $83,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 466,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,070.60. This trade represents a 2.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $202,950 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETNB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in 89bio during the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 89bio by 76.2% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in 89bio in the third quarter valued at $160,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in 89bio by 172.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 13,961 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in 89bio by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 5,421 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.