89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Stock Price Down 6.6%

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) were down 6.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.34 and last traded at $8.34. Approximately 153,877 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,107,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ETNB shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 89bio from $37.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.14.

89bio Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $793.93 million, a P/E ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 15.03, a quick ratio of 15.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.07.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by ($0.08). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.54) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 89bio, Inc. will post -2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 4,477 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.76, for a total transaction of $48,172.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 486,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,238,925.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 89bio news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 1,350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.35 per share, with a total value of $20,722,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 12,431,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,824,814.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 4,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.76, for a total transaction of $48,172.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 486,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,238,925.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in 89bio by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 26,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in 89bio by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 15,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 89bio by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in 89bio by 28.4% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in 89bio by 66.7% in the first quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 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.