89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Gap Up to $9.08

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $9.08, but opened at $9.43. 89bio shares last traded at $9.24, with a volume of 124,226 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ETNB. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of 89bio from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 89bio from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 89bio presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

89bio Stock Down 4.2 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.94. The stock has a market cap of $849.36 million, a P/E ratio of -4.44 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 20.04, a quick ratio of 20.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). As a group, research analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at 89bio

In other news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 4,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.76, for a total value of $48,172.52. Following the transaction, 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 through this link. In other news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 4,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.76, for a total value of $48,172.52. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.35 per share, with a total value of $20,722,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,431,584 shares in the company, valued at $190,824,814.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 89bio by 349.7% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 6,802 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 89bio by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 15,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 4,673 shares in the last quarter.

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.