89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Short Interest Up 12.2% in December

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,790,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the December 15th total of 6,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 943,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ETNB. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 89bio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.33.

Insider Transactions at 89bio

In other news, CEO Rohan Palekar acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.89 per share, for a total transaction of $39,450.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,718,052.04. This represents a 1.07 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders bought a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $202,950 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 89bio

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETNB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of 89bio in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in 89bio by 76.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in 89bio in the 3rd quarter valued at about $160,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 89bio by 172.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of 89bio by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter.

89bio Stock Performance

89bio stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $6.31. 1,863,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,074,441. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.22. The firm has a market cap of $669.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.14. 89bio has a fifty-two week low of $5.99 and a fifty-two week high of $16.63.

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.