AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $66.73 and last traded at $64.78, with a volume of 413489 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered AnaptysBio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on AnaptysBio from $51.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on AnaptysBio from $56.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of AnaptysBio from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AnaptysBio has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.22.

AnaptysBio Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.18 and a 200 day moving average of $41.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.57 and a beta of 0.32.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $108.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.09 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

AnaptysBio declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, November 21st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AnaptysBio

In other AnaptysBio news, insider Eric J. Loumeau sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total value of $510,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,947 shares in the company, valued at $456,297. This trade represents a 52.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Faga sold 15,309 shares of AnaptysBio stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $662,267.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 458,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,819,093.14. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 128,055 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,922 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AnaptysBio

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