AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $43.80, but opened at $42.75. AnaptysBio shares last traded at $44.45, with a volume of 76,272 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Daniel Faga sold 14,281 shares of the business’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 directly owned 479,344 shares in the company, valued at $21,431,470.24. The trade was a 2.89% 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, insider Eric J. Loumeau sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total transaction of $98,809.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $573,852.85. This represents a 14.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other AnaptysBio news, CFO Dennis Mulroy sold 2,515 shares of AnaptysBio stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total value of $112,445.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,002.92. The trade was a 10.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AnaptysBio from $51.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on AnaptysBio from $70.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of AnaptysBio in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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: UBS upgraded ANAB to a “strong‑buy” and raised its price target to $70, increasing visible upside and likely attracting retail and institutional flows. UBS upgrade / coverage note
• Positive Sentiment: Anaptys filed a partial motion to dismiss Tesaro’s anticipatory‑breach claim in its Delaware Chancery Court dispute with GSK/Tesaro over Jemperli royalties; a favorable court outcome would lower potential royalty liabilities and legal uncertainty around future cash flows. Reuters: partial dismissal filing
• Positive Sentiment: Company has an active $100M buyback authorization (announced November), which supports shares by reducing float and signals board confidence in valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several institutional investors have recently increased positions substantially (Assenagon, Woodline, 683 Capital, Arrowstreet), which can support liquidity but may not move price immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling disclosed this week: CEO Daniel Faga sold ~9,202 shares (~$662k) and CFO Dennis Mulroy sold 1,908 shares (and has sold other blocks recently); additional insider dispositions by other executives were also filed — these sales can create near‑term selling pressure or raise questions about insider timing despite large remaining holdings. CEO sale article CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered insider sales (multiple executives and directors) increase the visible supply and may blunt momentum from upgrades or legal progress until filings show stabilization. SEC Form 4 filings (insider sales)

AnaptysBio Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -15.84 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.51.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS 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 business had revenue of $76.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.83 million. Equities analysts expect that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AnaptysBio announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AnaptysBio

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

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.