Sanofi Purchases New Stake in AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB)

Sanofi purchased a new stake in AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 821,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,882,000. AnaptysBio comprises 6.2% of Sanofi’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Sanofi owned 2.70% of AnaptysBio at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 191.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 22,164 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 334,450 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,428,000 after buying an additional 97,200 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,843,740 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,411,000 after buying an additional 143,584 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in AnaptysBio during the fourth quarter worth about $311,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in AnaptysBio by 1,891.5% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,461 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 4,237 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ANAB shares. Johnson Rice restated a “buy” rating on shares of AnaptysBio in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim raised their price target on AnaptysBio from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AnaptysBio from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of AnaptysBio in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on AnaptysBio in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.88.

AnaptysBio Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:ANAB opened at $20.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $594.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.33 and a beta of -0.20. AnaptysBio, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.21 and a twelve month high of $41.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.29.

AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.30) by $0.02. AnaptysBio had a negative return on equity of 287.94% and a negative net margin of 289.75%. The company had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.27 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that AnaptysBio, Inc. will post -6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

AnaptysBio announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 24th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to purchase up to 13.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AnaptysBio Company Profile

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.