Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Purchases Shares of 1,019,449 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,019,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,972,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.96% of 89bio at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in 89bio by 228.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 149,479 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in 89bio by 77.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 43,384 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in 89bio by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 251,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 23,968 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in 89bio during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,897,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $739,000.

Insider Activity at 89bio

In other 89bio news, insider Quoc Le-Nguyen sold 15,329 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $91,207.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 328,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,953,521.85. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETNB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on 89bio in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on 89bio from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of 89bio in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of 89bio in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 89bio presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.25.

89bio Stock Performance

89bio stock opened at $7.70 on Friday. 89bio, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $11.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.16. 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 company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.23.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.54) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 89bio, Inc. will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

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.