AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Stock Price Up 7.2% – Time to Buy?

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB)’s stock price rose 7.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $45.86 and last traded at $47.8750. Approximately 31,202 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 635,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANAB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $70.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of AnaptysBio from $80.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.40.

AnaptysBio Stock Up 9.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of -17.39 and a beta of 0.32.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $1.58. The company had revenue of $76.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.83 million. AnaptysBio had a negative net margin of 49.94% and a negative return on equity of 1,101.24%. Equities analysts forecast that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

AnaptysBio announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, November 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Dennis Mulroy sold 15,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $705,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,634.85. The trade was a 62.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul F. Lizzul sold 4,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total value of $182,513.94. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,440,687.78. This trade represents a 11.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,280 shares of company stock valued at $6,184,409. 33.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AnaptysBio

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANAB. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AnaptysBio by 58.2% in the second quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 145,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 53,550 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AnaptysBio in the second quarter valued at approximately $741,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in AnaptysBio in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $337,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AnaptysBio in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $334,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC raised its position in AnaptysBio by 155.6% during the 2nd quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 500,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,100,000 after buying an additional 304,373 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.