AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) Short Interest Down 14.7% in April

Key Points

• Short interest down 14.7% in April to 4,106,275 shares, equal to 21.5% of the stock sold short and an 8.0‑day short‑interest ratio based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $76.36 after mixed price‑target revisions from firms including Barclays, Leerink and Stifel.
• Insiders have been net sellers—48,324 shares sold in the last 90 days (including CEO Daniel Faga’s 17,679‑share sale)—while the board announced a large stock buyback program.

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,106,275 shares, a decline of 14.7% from the March 31st total of 4,811,520 shares. Currently, 21.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 515,175 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANAB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on AnaptysBio from $79.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on AnaptysBio from $66.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on AnaptysBio from $56.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of AnaptysBio from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of AnaptysBio to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AnaptysBio news, CEO Daniel Faga sold 17,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.61, for a total transaction of $1,089,203.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 495,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,556,403.65. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric J. Loumeau sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $540,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $693,090. This represents a 43.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,324 shares of company stock valued at $2,787,594. Corporate insiders own 33.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AnaptysBio

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 5,864.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 835 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in AnaptysBio by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in AnaptysBio by 950.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in AnaptysBio by 175.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,164 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in AnaptysBio by 11,630.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter.

AnaptysBio Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ANAB traded up $1.03 on Friday, hitting $66.76. The stock had a trading volume of 358,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,673. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.38 and a beta of 0.40. AnaptysBio has a 1 year low of $11.40 and a 1 year high of $71.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $60.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.56.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.69. AnaptysBio had a negative net margin of 5.64% and a negative return on equity of 1,101.24%. The company had revenue of $108.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.09 million. Equities research analysts predict that AnaptysBio will post -3.15 EPS for the current year.

AnaptysBio announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, March 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100,000.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to buy up to 5,352,316.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AnaptysBio Company Profile

AnaptysBio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic antibody product candidates in immunology and inflammation. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Diego, California, AnaptysBio leverages a proprietary somatic hypermutation platform to rapidly generate and refine human antibodies with optimized efficacy and safety profiles. The company's technology is designed to accelerate target validation and candidate selection across a range of immune-mediated conditions.

The company's pipeline includes multiple clinical-stage programs addressing dermatological and inflammatory disorders.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.