Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

EQ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Clear Str raised shares of Equillium to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equillium from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Equillium in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equillium presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.57.

Equillium Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQ opened at $2.36 on Friday. Equillium has a fifty-two week low of $0.76 and a fifty-two week high of $3.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.22 million, a PE ratio of -11.80 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.23.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equillium will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equillium news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 200,000 shares of Equillium 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,880. The trade was a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Penny Tom sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.95, for a total value of $191,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,750. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 406,392 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,898 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Equillium by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,494,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,957,000 after purchasing an additional 632,359 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equillium in the first quarter valued at $2,453,000. Eversept Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the first quarter valued at about $2,998,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the first quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 27.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.