Short Interest in Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Increases By 32.2%

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,473,443 shares, a growth of 32.2% from the December 31st total of 1,114,202 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 605,348 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 605,348 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equillium news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 91,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,166. This represents a 52.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,335 shares of company stock worth $213,607. Insiders own 30.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equillium

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQ. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Equillium by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at $99,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the third quarter valued at about $174,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth about $178,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Equillium Stock Performance

Shares of Equillium stock opened at $1.51 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.24. Equillium has a 1-year low of $0.27 and a 1-year high of $2.35. The company has a market cap of $91.94 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 1.87.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.08. Equities research analysts forecast that Equillium will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1.00.

About Equillium

Equillium, Inc (NASDAQ: EQ) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel immunotherapies to treat severe autoimmune diseases and prevent organ transplant rejection. The company’s lead therapeutic candidate, EQ001 (itolizumab), is a humanized monoclonal antibody that modulates T-cell activation by targeting the CD6 receptor. Equillium’s pipeline also includes additional biologic candidates aimed at addressing indications such as acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and lupus nephritis.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in La Jolla, California, Equillium in-licensed itolizumab from Biocon Limited, leveraging the antibody’s established safety profile in earlier clinical studies.