Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Down 6.1% – Here’s Why

Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX)’s share price fell 6.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $5.82 and last traded at $5.7650. 799,310 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,644,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ANNX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Annexon in a report on Friday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have 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 MarketBeat, Annexon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Annexon Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $952.71 million, a P/E ratio of -4.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.69.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.04. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Annexon, Inc. will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Annexon

In other news, EVP Michael Overdorf sold 6,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.10, for a total value of $31,747.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 124,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,766.40. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jennifer Lew sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $40,118.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 113,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,339.15. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,513 shares of company stock worth $165,973. Company insiders own 11.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Annexon by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,610,000 after buying an additional 4,000,000 shares during the period. Mak Capital One LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annexon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,852,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Annexon by 126.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,652,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,354,000 after buying an additional 2,601,877 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its stake in shares of Annexon by 327.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 2,915,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,635,000 after buying an additional 2,232,766 shares during the period. Finally, BVF Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of Annexon by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 9,128,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,823,000 after buying an additional 2,128,080 shares during the period.

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.