Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Reduces Stock Position in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lowered its stake in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in 89bio were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETNB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 89bio by 4.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,525,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,438,000 after acquiring an additional 155,841 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of 89bio by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,698,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,224,000 after purchasing an additional 272,255 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in 89bio in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,556,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in 89bio by 57.1% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,311,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,256,000 after buying an additional 476,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurion Capital Management LP boosted its stake in 89bio by 65.8% during the third quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 1,205,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,615,000 after buying an additional 478,632 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at 89bio

In other news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 4,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.76, for a total transaction of $48,172.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 486,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,238,925.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 89bio news, CEO Rohan Palekar sold 4,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.76, for a total transaction of $48,172.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 486,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,238,925.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 1,350,000 shares of 89bio stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.35 per share, with a total value of $20,722,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 12,431,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,824,814.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETNB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of 89bio in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of 89bio in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on 89bio from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of 89bio in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 89bio from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

89bio Stock Up 2.8 %

ETNB stock opened at $8.75 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.88. 89bio, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.57 and a fifty-two week high of $22.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 20.04 and a current ratio of 20.04.

89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). As a group, analysts forecast that 89bio, Inc. will post -2.2 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.