Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Upgraded at Clear Str

Clear Str upgraded shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on EQ. Zacks Research downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Equillium in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Equillium from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.57.

Equillium Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:EQ opened at $2.69 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.74 and its 200 day moving average is $2.12. Equillium has a 52 week low of $0.36 and a 52 week high of $3.54. The stock has a market cap of $170.09 million, a PE ratio of -8.41 and a beta of 1.77.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last released its earnings results 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). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equillium news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.16, for a total transaction of $632,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 793,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,505,880. This represents a 20.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Penny Tom sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.95, for a total value of $191,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,750. This represents 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 quarter, insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock worth $1,224,898. Company insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in Equillium by 133.4% during 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Equillium during the first quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada bought a new stake in Equillium during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Institutional investors 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.