abrdn plc Takes Position in 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB)

abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of 89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 214,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,393,000. abrdn plc owned about 0.23% of 89bio at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 89bio by 193.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,550,000 after buying an additional 322,339 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 476,655 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in 89bio by 350.0% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 89bio by 4.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,525,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,438,000 after purchasing an additional 155,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 89bio by 8.7% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 712,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,007,000 after purchasing an additional 57,092 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

89bio Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ETNB opened at $8.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 20.04 and a current ratio of 20.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $786.52 million, a P/E ratio of -4.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.88. 89bio, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.57 and a fifty-two week high of $22.93.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETNB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of 89bio from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of 89bio in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of 89bio from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

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.