Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 377,370 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 377,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,951,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.36% of 89bio as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 89bio by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in 89bio by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in 89bio by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in 89bio by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in 89bio by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 36,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 3,893 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $91,207.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 328,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,953,521.85. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

89bio Trading Up 6.6 %

89bio stock opened at $7.40 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.17. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.25. 89bio, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.16 and a 52-week high of $11.84.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.42). Analysts predict that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ETNB shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.25.

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.