AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $43.56 and last traded at $43.3880, with a volume of 266295 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ANAB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AnaptysBio from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AnaptysBio from $51.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of AnaptysBio in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.30.

AnaptysBio Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.72 and a 200 day moving average of $27.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.73 and a beta of 0.29.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.06) by $1.58. The firm had revenue of $76.32 million during 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%. Equities analysts forecast that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AnaptysBio announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AnaptysBio

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ANAB. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AnaptysBio by 433.3% in the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 4,633,602 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $86,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,764,720 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AnaptysBio by 4,852.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,934 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,719,000 after purchasing an additional 822,975 shares during the period. Caption Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 106.3% during the 1st quarter. Caption Management LLC now owns 23,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 394,634 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 63.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 791,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,705,000 after buying an additional 305,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 155.6% in 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 period.

About AnaptysBio

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.