Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on 89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB)

89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 7,218 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 239% compared to the average daily volume of 2,128 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETNB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of 89BIO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on 89BIO from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright cut 89BIO from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $14.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on 89BIO from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89BIO in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $115,280.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 309,364 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,191.28. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 89BIO

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETNB. CWM LLC increased its position in 89BIO by 9,265.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 5,837 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of 89BIO during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 89BIO by 4,898.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 89BIO by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of 89BIO by 213.8% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 4,506 shares in the last quarter.

89BIO Stock Performance

ETNB opened at $14.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.30 and its 200 day moving average is $9.20. The company has a current ratio of 15.19, a quick ratio of 15.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.11 and a beta of 1.27. 89BIO has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $15.06.

89BIO (NASDAQ:ETNB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.22). During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.48) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that 89BIO will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

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.