Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.5714.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $5.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th.

Equillium Price Performance

NASDAQ EQ opened at $3.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $192.85 million, a PE ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.77. Equillium has a 52 week low of $0.27 and a 52 week high of $3.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.84.

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

Insider Transactions at Equillium

In other news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 30,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $91,066.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 762,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,240,353.50. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 14,584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.93, for a total transaction of $42,731.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,376.98. The trade was a 18.90% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,898. 17.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Equillium in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Equillium by 133.4% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 13,591 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equillium in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equillium in the third quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Equillium in the first quarter worth approximately $100,000. 27.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.