Short Interest in AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) Rises By 54.4%

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,310,000 shares, an increase of 54.4% from the January 31st total of 6,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 932,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.0 days.

AnaptysBio Stock Up 3.5 %

ANAB traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.15. 357,005 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,655. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.02 and its 200 day moving average is $24.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $460.97 million and a PE ratio of -2.48. AnaptysBio has a 52 week low of $12.21 and a 52 week high of $41.31.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.61) by $0.89. AnaptysBio had a negative return on equity of 287.94% and a negative net margin of 289.75%. The company had revenue of $43.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.17 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AnaptysBio will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AnaptysBio news, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc bought 65,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.92 per share, with a total value of $842,177.28. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,860,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,553,525.60. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 33.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AnaptysBio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANAB. FMR LLC grew its holdings in AnaptysBio by 15.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,309,175 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $110,857,000 after purchasing an additional 438,557 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of AnaptysBio by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 2,209,189 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,008,000 after buying an additional 43,598 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AnaptysBio by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,843,740 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,411,000 after acquiring an additional 143,584 shares during the period. Fairmount Funds Management LLC purchased a new stake in AnaptysBio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,050,000. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AnaptysBio in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,212,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ANAB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AnaptysBio from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AnaptysBio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on AnaptysBio from $90.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of AnaptysBio from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.44.

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.