89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of 89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.56.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of ETNB opened at $8.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. 89bio has a 12 month low of $5.99 and a 12 month high of $13.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.80 and its 200-day moving average is $8.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.17.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted its 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). Equities analysts expect that 89bio will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at 89bio

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,100,291.25. This trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.55 per share, for a total transaction of $32,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,250. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in 89bio by 206.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in 89bio during the fourth quarter worth $87,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 89bio by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period.

About 89bio

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.