Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Makes New Investment in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 342,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,676,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 89bio by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,692,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,514,000 after acquiring an additional 686,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,207,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,267,000 after purchasing an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of 89bio by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,055,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,255,000 after purchasing an additional 207,582 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in 89bio by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,042,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,150,000 after purchasing an additional 455,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Wisconsin Foundation increased its stake in 89bio by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. University of Wisconsin Foundation now owns 917,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,174,000 after buying an additional 193,225 shares during the period.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ETNB opened at $8.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. 89bio, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.16 and a 12-month high of $11.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.16. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -2.82 and a beta of 1.23.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.01. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 89bio news, 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 value of $91,207.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 328,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,953,521.85. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETNB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.25.

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.