Zacks Research Upgrades Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) to Hold

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

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

Equillium Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of EQ opened at $2.18 on Tuesday. Equillium has a 52 week low of $0.76 and a 52 week high of $3.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $137.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.81 and a beta of 1.82.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted 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 analysts anticipate that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equillium

In other news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 200,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 793,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,505,880. The trade was a 20.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 86,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total transaction of $240,833.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,586 shares in the company, valued at $175,240.80. This trade represents a 57.88% 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. Insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock worth $1,224,898 over the last three months. Insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Equillium in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equillium by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter valued at $35,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Equillium during the first quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium in the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Equillium Company Profile

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.