AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Shares Up 2.5% – Should You Buy?

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB)’s stock price was up 2.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $19.60 and last traded at $19.12. Approximately 73,353 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 553,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ANAB. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of AnaptysBio in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on AnaptysBio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of AnaptysBio from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.11.

AnaptysBio Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a market cap of $585.46 million, a PE ratio of -3.13 and a beta of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.08 and its 200 day moving average is $22.17.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.61) by $0.89. AnaptysBio had a negative net margin of 289.75% and a negative return on equity of 287.94%. The business had revenue of $43.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.17 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AnaptysBio declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 13.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc acquired 6,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.95 per share, for a total transaction of $86,065.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,880,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,047,217.30. This trade represents a 0.08 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 33.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AnaptysBio

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 131.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,697 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in AnaptysBio in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 1,891.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,461 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 4,237 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of AnaptysBio by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 4,733 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of AnaptysBio by 1,585.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 5,360 shares during the last quarter.

AnaptysBio Company Profile

AnaptysBio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses in delivering immunology therapeutics. Its products include Rosnilimab, an IgG1 antibody that targets PD-1+ T cells, resulting in their agonism or depletion, broadly impacting pathogenic drivers of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; and ANB032, a non-depleting antibody that binds to the BTLA checkpoint receptor and inhibits activated T cell proliferation; ANB033, a novel anti-CD122 antagonist antibody that targets the shared common beta subunit of the receptors for IL-15 and IL-2; ANB101, a BDCA2 modulator antibody that specifically targets plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs); and Imsidolimab, an antibody that inhibits the interleukin-36 receptor, which is in the Phase 3 development for the treatment of generalized pustular psoriasis.