AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• AnaptysBio shares hit a new 52-week high of $65.44 (last around $64.88) amid strong analyst support; the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $73.44 (nine Buys, one Hold, one Sell).
• The company beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.58 vs. $0.89; revenue $108.25M vs. $87.09M) but remains unprofitable with negative ROE/net margin and an expected -6.08 EPS for the year; the board approved a $100M share buyback while insiders have sold notable stock recently.

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.44 and last traded at $64.8750, with a volume of 119160 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on AnaptysBio from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on AnaptysBio from $56.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.44.

AnaptysBio Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -126.29 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.87.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $108.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.09 million. AnaptysBio had a negative return on equity of 1,101.24% and a negative net margin of 5.64%. On average, analysts expect that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

AnaptysBio declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, November 21st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Dennis Mulroy sold 2,515 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total transaction of $112,445.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $977,002.92. The trade was a 10.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Faga sold 14,281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total value of $638,503.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,344 shares in the company, valued at $21,431,470.24. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,280 shares of company stock worth $7,254,939. 33.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AnaptysBio by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in AnaptysBio by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,345 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in AnaptysBio by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 35,948 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AnaptysBio by 5,864.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 835 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter.

About AnaptysBio

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.

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