Alphyn Capital on Its Special-Situation Investment: AnaptysBio (ANAB)

Alphyn Capital on Its Special-Situation Investment: AnaptysBio (ANAB)

Wed, September 9, 2026 at 5:34 PM GMT+3 4 min read

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Alphyn Capital Management, an investment management firm, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. The fund's Master Account returned 0.6% net in the quarter compared to 15.2% for the S&P500. As of June 30, 2026, the top ten positions comprised approximately 72% of the portfolio, and the portfolio held approximately 9% in cash and short-term treasuries. The portfolio experienced minimal gains in the quarter, despite a strong index performance, leading to disappointment in longer-term results. The author acknowledged prior management flaws, notably holding onto positions after their initial rationale changed. As a correction, every position now has a clear thesis, expected return, and exit strategy based on changes in metrics. The letter concluded that while early-stage analysis can be misleading, profitability consistency can identify successful long-term investments more effectively. Please review the Fund's top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Alphyn Capital Management highlighted AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) as a newly added position. AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on immunology therapeutics for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. On September 08, 2026, AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) closed at $56.60 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $1.68 billion. AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) posted a one-month return of -0.67%, while its shares gained 272.75% over the past 52 weeks.

Alphyn Capital Management stated the following regarding AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) is a special-situation investment initiated late in the quarter. Following an April separation that moved its clinical pipeline into a new company, AnaptysBio became a stripped-down royalty business with fewer than ten employees and less than $10 million in expected annual expenses. Its principal asset is a royalty on Jemperli, a cancer drug developed and sold by GSK. The royalty begins at 8% and rises to 25% on annual sales above $2.5 billion. Jemperli generated more than $1.1 billion in sales in 2025, and GSK has set a target of more than $2.7 billion.

AnaptysBio argued that GSK was required to pursue the "optimal commercial return" for Jemperli but instead favored combinations involving Merck's competing drug, Keytruda. AnaptysBio had previously prevailed in a related dispute, winning significant improvements in its royalty rate as compensation. In April, the Delaware court also dismissed a GSK counterclaim that could have cut the royalty rate in half, leaving me more confident that the situation offered mostly upside optionality with limited downside risk.

At my purchase price of approximately $59.50, I believed the value of AnaptysBio's contracted future royalties, together with its net cash and authorized share-repurchase program, supported a value of $55 to $65 per share if nothing changed. Against that base case, I estimated that a settlement or ruling that strengthened GSK's commercialization obligations or improved AnaptysBio's royalty economics supported values of roughly $70 to $105 per share. The trial was scheduled to begin on July 14, so a relatively quick resolution could be expected."

AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) at the end of the second quarter, compared to 33 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we discussed AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB) and shared Greenhaven Road Capital's views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.