Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Price Target Raised to $25.00

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) had its price objective raised by Needham & Company LLC from $11.00 to $25.00 in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ANNX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Monday. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Annexon in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Annexon in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Annexon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Annexon presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.80.

Annexon Price Performance

ANNX stock opened at $5.80 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.58. Annexon has a fifty-two week low of $2.03 and a fifty-two week high of $7.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $950.27 million, a PE ratio of -4.75 and a beta of 1.16.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.07. As a group, equities analysts expect that Annexon will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Muneer A. Satter purchased 613,497 shares of Annexon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,319,018.77. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,342,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,950,944.94. This trade represents a 6.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William H. Carson acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.78 per share, with a total value of $46,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 78,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,180.90. This trade represents a 11.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 10.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annexon

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Annexon by 165.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,259,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,600,000 after buying an additional 2,654,414 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Annexon in the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Annexon by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 55,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Redmile Group LLC raised its position in shares of Annexon by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 14,549,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,606,000 after acquiring an additional 4,499,124 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Annexon by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 134,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 4,684 shares during the last quarter.

About Annexon

Annexon Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of complement-targeted therapies for patients with neurodegenerative and neuroimmune diseases. The company’s research platform centers on the inhibition of the C1 complex, a key initiator of the classical complement pathway implicated in several rare and life-threatening disorders. By selectively targeting upstream complement activation, Annexon aims to prevent the aberrant immune-mediated damage that characterizes conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and autoimmune neuropathies.

At the core of Annexon’s pipeline is ANX005, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the C1q subcomponent, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for acute GBS and chronic neurodegenerative indications.