89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Receives “Buy” Rating from Bank of America

Bank of America reissued their buy rating on shares of 89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has a $30.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 89bio from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $29.00.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of ETNB opened at $9.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 20.04, a current ratio of 20.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $886.50 million, a P/E ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.99. 89bio has a 52 week low of $6.57 and a 52 week high of $22.93.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts anticipate that 89bio will post -2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETNB. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,317,000. BVF Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of 89bio by 119.2% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 4,047,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,200 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in 89bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,340,000. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in 89bio in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,556,000. Finally, Superstring Capital Management LP bought a new stake in 89bio during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,410,000.

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.