89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Purchased by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) by 77.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,042,136 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 455,074 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.98% of 89bio worth $8,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 89bio by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in 89bio during the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in 89bio by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares in the last quarter.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of ETNB opened at $5.53 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.16 and a 52-week high of $11.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.24. The company has a market capitalization of $807.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 1.25.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Research analysts predict that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.55 per share, with a total value of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,250. The trade was a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total transaction of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,764,196.17. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup began coverage on 89bio in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 89bio presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.56.

89bio 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.