Short Interest in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) Grows By 38.3%

by · The Markets Daily

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB – Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,230,000 shares, an increase of 38.3% from the March 15th total of 11,010,000 shares. Currently, 14.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Insider Activity at 89bio

In other 89bio news, Director Charles Mcwherter acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.55 per share, for a total transaction of $32,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,250. This trade represents a 50.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 5,714,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,554,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,100,291.25. This represents a 41.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETNB. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of 89bio by 206.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of 89bio during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 89bio by 4,898.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of 89bio by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP now owns 11,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter.

89bio Stock Performance

Shares of ETNB stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,019,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,820. 89bio has a one year low of $4.16 and a one year high of $11.84. The firm has a market cap of $884.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.19. The company has a quick ratio of 11.66, a current ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.42). On average, analysts forecast that 89bio will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETNB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a report on Friday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.56.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ETNB

89bio Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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