Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

EQ has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Equillium to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Equillium in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Equillium in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Equillium Stock Performance

Shares of EQ stock opened at $2.47 on Friday. Equillium has a 52-week low of $0.27 and a 52-week high of $2.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $150.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.98 and a beta of 1.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of Equillium stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $327,249.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 191,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,941.44. The trade was a 49.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 473,689 shares of company stock valued at $848,115. 30.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equillium by 133.4% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new stake in Equillium during the 4th quarter worth about $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth about $174,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.