AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Stock Price Down 7.3% – Time to Sell?

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB)’s share price was down 7.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $46.90 and last traded at $46.58. Approximately 276,459 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 626,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised AnaptysBio from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $51.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AnaptysBio from $70.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AnaptysBio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.40.

AnaptysBio Stock Down 7.8%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.44 and a beta of 0.32.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.06) by $1.58. The company had revenue of $76.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.83 million. AnaptysBio had a negative return on equity of 1,101.24% and a negative net margin of 49.94%. On average, research analysts forecast that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AnaptysBio declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AnaptysBio

In other news, CEO Daniel Faga sold 14,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total transaction of $638,503.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 479,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,431,470.24. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Dennis Mulroy sold 2,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total value of $112,445.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,002.92. This represents a 10.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,280 shares of company stock valued at $6,184,409. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AnaptysBio

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 153.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 18,165 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in AnaptysBio by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 30,903 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AnaptysBio during the first quarter valued at about $1,803,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 145,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,231,000 after buying an additional 53,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in AnaptysBio in the second quarter worth $337,000.

AnaptysBio Company Profile

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.