89bio (NASDAQ:ETNB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

89bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETNB) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,118,186 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the previous session’s volume of 940,448 shares.The stock last traded at $9.52 and had previously closed at $9.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETNB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on 89bio from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of 89bio in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on 89bio from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

89bio Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a current ratio of 11.66.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 89bio

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in 89bio by 173.6% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 848,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,793,000 after buying an additional 538,079 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in 89bio by 22.9% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,164,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,191,000 after purchasing an additional 402,999 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 89bio by 9.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,722,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,975,000 after purchasing an additional 415,386 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in 89bio by 165.3% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 227,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 142,032 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in 89bio in the second quarter valued at $2,238,000.

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.