89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Stock Price Down 4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) fell 4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $6.02 and last traded at $6.02. 229,684 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 744,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ETNB. Raymond James upgraded shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

89bio Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66. The company has a market cap of $669.68 million, a P/E ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total transaction of $71,149.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,764,196.17. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.89 per share, for a total transaction of $39,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,236 shares in the company, valued at $3,718,052.04. The trade was a 1.07 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,950. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of 89bio by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter valued at $739,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the 4th quarter worth $1,897,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 89bio by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 251,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 23,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in 89bio by 77.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 43,384 shares during the period.

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.