Analysts Set Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) PT at $7.57

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.5714.

Several brokerages have weighed in on EQ. B. Riley Financial started coverage on Equillium in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Leerink Partners upgraded Equillium from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $1.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Equillium in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock.

Equillium Stock Up 3.6%

Equillium stock opened at $2.59 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.08. Equillium has a 52-week low of $0.36 and a 52-week high of $3.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 1.77.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). On average, research analysts anticipate that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 86,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total value of $240,833.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,586 shares in the company, valued at $175,240.80. This trade represents a 57.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Penny Tom sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.95, for a total transaction of $191,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at $191,750. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,898. 17.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equillium by 59.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,313,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after buying an additional 489,855 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $190,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,951,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Equillium by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equillium in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $178,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.