Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 504,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 327,657 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of 89bio worth $3,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in 89bio by 228.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 149,479 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 89bio by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,074,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,358,000 after buying an additional 160,356 shares during the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. raised its position in shares of 89bio by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. now owns 536,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 89bio by 186.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 130,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 85,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in 89bio by 14.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,158,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,108 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at 89bio

In other news, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rohan Palekar acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.89 per share, with a total value of $39,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 471,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,718,052.04. This trade represents a 1.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 25,000 shares of company stock worth $202,950 in the last 90 days. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ETNB shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James upgraded 89bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

89bio Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ETNB opened at $7.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $842.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 1.12. 89bio, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.43 and a twelve month high of $16.63. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.35.

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.