Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Earns Buy Rating from Roth Mkm

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Roth Mkm in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 485.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Equillium in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial started coverage on Equillium in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Equillium to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Equillium in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equillium currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.80.

Equillium Trading Up 3.5%

Equillium stock opened at $2.05 on Friday. Equillium has a twelve month low of $0.27 and a twelve month high of $2.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.62 million, a P/E ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 1.75.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. Sell-side analysts predict that Equillium will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equillium

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 120,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $300,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,465. This represents a 65.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 487,468 shares of company stock worth $990,467 in the last three months. 31.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in Equillium by 133.4% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at about $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in Equillium in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at about $174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

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.