Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Stock Price

Key Points

• Piper Sandler cut its price target on AnaptysBio from $95 to $93 but kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 33.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy (10 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with a consensus price target of $76.18.
• AnaptysBio posted quarterly beats (EPS $1.58 vs. $0.89 expected; revenue $108.25M vs. $87.09M) yet remains unprofitable with negative ROE and analysts expect -3.15 EPS for the year; the board approved a share buyback and insiders sold about $2.79M of stock recently.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by Piper Sandler from $95.00 to $93.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 33.90% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ANAB. Leerink Partners raised their target price on AnaptysBio from $66.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wedbush raised their target price on AnaptysBio from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised AnaptysBio from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on AnaptysBio from $79.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.18.

AnaptysBio Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ANAB traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.46. The stock had a trading volume of 32,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,994. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.80. AnaptysBio has a 12-month low of $11.40 and a 12-month high of $71.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.37 and a beta of 0.79.

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

AnaptysBio declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, March 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100,000.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 5,352,316.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AnaptysBio

In related news, Director John P. Schmid sold 20,645 shares of AnaptysBio stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.11, for a total transaction of $1,158,390.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,774,310.42. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric J. Loumeau sold 10,000 shares of AnaptysBio stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,324 shares of company stock valued at $2,787,594. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AnaptysBio

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AnaptysBio by 5,864.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 835 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in AnaptysBio by 54.6% during the third 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in AnaptysBio by 950.0% during the third 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 during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in AnaptysBio by 175.0% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in AnaptysBio by 11,630.0% during the second 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 during the period.

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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