Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Now Covered by Analysts at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial began coverage on shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on EQ. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Equillium in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Equillium to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Equillium in a research note on Monday. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.80.

Equillium Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:EQ opened at $1.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $125.20 million, a PE ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.47. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.27 and a 12-month high of $2.70.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. Equities analysts forecast that Equillium will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equillium

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $327,249.12. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 191,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,941.44. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 487,468 shares of company stock worth $990,467 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 31.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Equillium by 133.4% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the third quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Equillium in the third quarter worth approximately $174,000. Institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Equillium Company Profile

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.