AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AnaptysBio shares gapped down pre-market, opening at $44.88 versus a prior close of $67.51 and trading down about 24.4% (last $50.50) on elevated volume.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy with a $80.10 price target (9 Buy, 1 Hold, 1 Sell), and several firms have recently raised their targets (e.g., Wedbush to $75, Barclays to $79).
• The company beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.58 vs. $0.89; revenue $108.25M vs. $87.09M) but still reports a negative net margin and ROE, announced a stock repurchase plan, and insiders sold about 48,324 shares (~$2.79M) during the last quarter.

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $67.51, but opened at $44.88. AnaptysBio shares last traded at $50.5030, with a volume of 97,826 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ANAB. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial upgraded shares of AnaptysBio to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AnaptysBio from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AnaptysBio presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.10.

AnaptysBio Trading Down 24.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.75 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day moving average of $48.07.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $108.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.09 million. AnaptysBio had a negative return on equity of 1,101.24% and a negative net margin of 5.64%. Research analysts predict that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 EPS for the current year.

AnaptysBio declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, March 27th that permits the company to repurchase $100,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to buy up to 5,352,316.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AnaptysBio

In related news, CEO Daniel Faga sold 17,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.61, for a total value of $1,089,203.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 495,965 shares in the company, valued at $30,556,403.65. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Schmid sold 20,645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.11, for a total transaction of $1,158,390.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,774,310.42. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 48,324 shares of company stock worth $2,787,594 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AnaptysBio

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AnaptysBio in the 4th quarter valued at $21,559,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 1,631.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,625 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,497,000 after acquiring an additional 233,325 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AnaptysBio by 2,358.3% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 229,137 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,109,000 after purchasing an additional 219,816 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in AnaptysBio by 145.6% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 370,458 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,343,000 after purchasing an additional 219,648 shares during the period. Finally, Soleus Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in AnaptysBio by 214.6% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 321,040 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,127,000 after purchasing an additional 218,988 shares in 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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