Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on EQ. Clear Str raised shares of Equillium to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th. B. Riley Financial started coverage on Equillium in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Equillium from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.57.

Equillium Stock Performance

EQ opened at $2.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.22. Equillium has a twelve month low of $0.76 and a twelve month high of $3.54. The firm has a market cap of $137.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.81 and a beta of 1.82.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equillium

In other news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.16, for a total transaction of $632,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 793,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,880. This 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 available through this link. Also, insider Penny Tom sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at $191,750. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock worth $1,224,898. Corporate insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the first quarter worth $31,000. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equillium by 133.4% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Equillium in the first quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in Equillium in the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. 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.