Leerink Partners Initiates Coverage on Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ)

Analysts at Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective points to a potential upside of 354.55% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EQ. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Equillium to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Equillium from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equillium presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.57.

Equillium Stock Down 12.0%

NASDAQ EQ opened at $1.32 on Monday. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.76 and a 12-month high of $3.54. The company has a market capitalization of $83.70 million, a PE ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.00 and its 200-day moving average is $2.29.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equillium will post -0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQ. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Equillium by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,494,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,957,000 after buying an additional 632,359 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,685,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,027,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,453,000. Finally, Eversept Partners LP acquired a new stake in Equillium during the first quarter worth approximately $2,998,000. 27.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Equillium

Equillium, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s approach centers on modulating immune pathways involved in disease progression, with the goal of addressing conditions that have limited treatment options.

Equillium’s lead product candidate is itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets CD6, an immune-cell receptor involved in the regulation of T-cell activity. The company is evaluating itolizumab in immune-mediated conditions, including acute graft-versus-host disease and lupus nephritis.