Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,619 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,053 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in 89bio were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 89bio during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 89bio by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of 89bio by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 89bio by 172.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 13,961 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In related news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,554,319 shares in the company, valued at $171,100,291.25. This trade represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total transaction of $71,149.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,764,196.17. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ETNB. Citigroup started coverage on 89bio in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.56.

89bio Trading Down 12.5 %

Shares of ETNB stock opened at $8.01 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $5.99 and a fifty-two week high of $11.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 1.17.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). On average, analysts anticipate that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current 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.