Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,969 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in 89bio were worth $109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in 89bio during the fourth quarter worth $86,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in 89bio by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in 89bio during the third quarter worth $160,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in 89bio by 172.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 13,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in 89bio by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 4,562 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETNB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Saturday. Wolfe Research started coverage on 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on 89bio in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 89bio presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.56.

89bio Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ETNB opened at $8.52 on Monday. 89bio, Inc. has a one year low of $5.99 and a one year high of $11.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 11.66 and a quick ratio of 11.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $8.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.17.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.42). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 5,714,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.75 per share, with a total value of $49,999,993.75. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 10,963 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.49, for a total value of $71,149.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 271,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,764,196.17. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

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.