Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Equillium in a research report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Equillium in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.57.

Equillium Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQ opened at $2.76 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $174.51 million, a PE ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 1.77. Equillium has a 52 week low of $0.34 and a 52 week high of $3.54.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equillium will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equillium

In related news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.16, for a total value of $632,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 793,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,880. This trade represents a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Penny Tom sold 65,000 shares of Equillium stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.95, for a total transaction of $191,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at $191,750. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 406,392 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,898. Corporate insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equillium by 59.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,313,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 489,855 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Equillium during the third quarter valued at approximately $190,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,951,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $178,000. Institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

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.