89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Short Interest Update

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,230,000 shares, an increase of 38.3% from the March 15th total of 11,010,000 shares. Approximately 14.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ETNB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 89bio news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. This trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Mcwherter purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.55 per share, for a total transaction of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $98,250. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in 89bio by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,514,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,177,000 after buying an additional 1,355,838 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 89bio by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 10,202,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,785,000 after buying an additional 2,211,052 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,478,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,513 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP raised its position in 89bio by 134.2% in the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 6,478,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,711,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 89bio by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,692,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,514,000 after buying an additional 686,054 shares during the period.

89bio Stock Up 2.9 %

ETNB opened at $6.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $884.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.08 and a beta of 1.25. 89bio has a twelve month low of $4.16 and a twelve month high of $11.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.19. 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 (NASDAQ:ETNB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Sell-side analysts expect that 89bio will post -3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.