AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Trading Up 2.5% – Here’s What Happened

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB)’s share price rose 2.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $19.60 and last traded at $19.12. Approximately 73,353 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 553,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ANAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AnaptysBio from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AnaptysBio from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AnaptysBio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.11.

AnaptysBio Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $581.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.12 and a beta of 0.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.96.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.61) by $0.89. AnaptysBio had a negative return on equity of 287.94% and a negative net margin of 289.75%. The company had revenue of $43.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.17 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

AnaptysBio declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 24th that allows the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the biotechnology company to purchase up to 13.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc acquired 6,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $86,065.70. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,880,094 shares in the company, valued at $102,047,217.30. The trade was a 0.08 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 33.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AnaptysBio

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AnaptysBio by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of AnaptysBio by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 485,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after acquiring an additional 25,094 shares during the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in AnaptysBio during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,481,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in AnaptysBio by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 80,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 36,365 shares during the last quarter.

About AnaptysBio

AnaptysBio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses in delivering immunology therapeutics. Its products include Rosnilimab, an IgG1 antibody that targets PD-1+ T cells, resulting in their agonism or depletion, broadly impacting pathogenic drivers of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; and ANB032, a non-depleting antibody that binds to the BTLA checkpoint receptor and inhibits activated T cell proliferation; ANB033, a novel anti-CD122 antagonist antibody that targets the shared common beta subunit of the receptors for IL-15 and IL-2; ANB101, a BDCA2 modulator antibody that specifically targets plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs); and Imsidolimab, an antibody that inhibits the interleukin-36 receptor, which is in the Phase 3 development for the treatment of generalized pustular psoriasis.