Stifel Nicolaus Initiates Coverage on Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ)

Investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 160.42% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on EQ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equillium presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Equillium Price Performance

NASDAQ:EQ opened at $1.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.36. The firm has a market cap of $116.91 million, a PE ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 1.87. Equillium has a 1-year low of $0.27 and a 1-year high of $2.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equillium news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $327,249.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 191,444 shares in the company, valued at $336,941.44. The trade was a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 328,174 shares of company stock worth $533,163 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 30.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equillium

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC raised 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new position in Equillium in the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at approximately $174,000. 27.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.