ETNB - 89bio could close the valuation gap with Akero by end of 2021: Cantor

89bio ([[ETNB]] +6.9%) has surged today after Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on the stock with an overweight rating and the price target at $58.00 per share implies as much as ~124.7% premium to the previous close.89bio’s lone asset BIO89-100 is set to undergo a Phase 2b trial for the treatment of patients with fibrosis stage 2 or 3 non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).The analyst Emma Nealon compares the company to Akero Therapeutics ([[AKRO]] -0.8%) another clinical-stage biotech whose only asset Efruxifermin generated positive Phase 2a data in NASH in June 2020.Both Efruxifermin and BIO89-100 are analogs of the hormone FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21), ‘the most promising mechanism in development for NASH,’ according to the analyst.Despite the clinical validation of FGF21 with positive Phase 2a data for Efruxifermin, 89bio is undervalued compared to the ~$1B valuation of Akero, Nealon observes.The analyst, however, expects the valuation gap to close by the end of 2021 when 89bio is

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89bio could close the valuation gap with Akero by end of 2021: Cantor