89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $7.13, but opened at $10.60. 89bio shares last traded at $10.97, with a volume of 13,434,411 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ETNB. Raymond James upgraded 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 89bio currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

89bio Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.74 and its 200-day moving average is $8.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 89bio news, CEO Rohan Palekar purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.35 per share, for a total transaction of $83,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 466,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,070.60. This represents a 2.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $235,700. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 89bio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in 89bio by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in 89bio by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 5,612 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter worth approximately $739,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,897,000.

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.