Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $4.96, but opened at $5.64. Annexon shares last traded at $5.7430, with a volume of 1,054,235 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Insider Activity at Annexon

In other Annexon news, Director William H. Carson acquired 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.67 per share, with a total value of $45,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,836.35. This trade represents a 14.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jennifer Lew sold 7,851 shares of Annexon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $40,118.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 113,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,339.15. This represents a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,513 shares of company stock valued at $165,973. Corporate insiders own 11.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annexon

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB increased its position in Annexon by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 823,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 363,000 shares during the period. Sirios Capital Management L P lifted its position in Annexon by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sirios Capital Management L P now owns 989,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 220,891 shares during the period. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd lifted its position in Annexon by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd now owns 2,810,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,744,000 after acquiring an additional 160,000 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Annexon by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 492,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 25,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Annexon by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter.

Annexon Stock Down 3.2%

The firm has a market cap of $641.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.94 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.57.

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.