Paul Lizzul Sells 4,219 Shares of AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Stock

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) insider Paul Lizzul sold 4,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $182,513.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,440,687.78. This represents a 11.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

AnaptysBio Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ ANAB opened at $45.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.03 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.22. AnaptysBio, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.21 and a 1 year high of $52.47.

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 the consensus estimate of ($1.06) by $1.58. AnaptysBio had a negative net margin of 49.94% and a negative return on equity of 1,101.24%. The company had revenue of $76.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.83 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ANAB. Barclays reduced their target price on AnaptysBio from $70.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AnaptysBio from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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, HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of AnaptysBio from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.40.

Key Headlines Impacting AnaptysBio

Here are the key news stories impacting AnaptysBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarter: AnaptysBio reported an EPS beat and materially higher revenue versus consensus in its most recent quarter — a result that underpins the stock rerating and analyst optimism. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchase: The board authorized up to $100 million in buybacks (~9.6% of shares), which reduces float and signals management confidence — typically supportive for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple firms maintain Buy/Overweight ratings and the consensus target remains above the current price, helping attract demand from institutional and retail investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Event catalyst: CEO Daniel Faga will present at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 13 — a common venue for new data, partnership or strategy updates, but movement depends on what is announced. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows: Several funds have increased or initiated positions recently, which can provide steady demand but also raises the possibility of larger block trades if they rebalance. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple insiders, including CEO Daniel Faga (15,309 shares), CFO Dennis Mulroy and others, filed Form 4s disclosing sales at about $43.26 on Jan. 5 — a move that can be read negatively by the market even if for diversification or tax reasons. Read More.

Institutional Trading of AnaptysBio

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AnaptysBio by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 18,165 shares in the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AnaptysBio in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,168,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in AnaptysBio by 63.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 791,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,705,000 after buying an additional 305,950 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in AnaptysBio by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 30,903 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AnaptysBio in the 1st quarter valued at $1,803,000.

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.