Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Annexon from “hold” to “sell,” adding to a mixed analyst picture that still includes several buy ratings and a consensus “hold” with a $16 average target price.
• ANNX shares were trading around $5.80, giving the biotech company a market cap of about $950 million, well below the consensus price target and within its 52-week range of $2.03 to $7.18.
• Insiders and institutions have been active buyers: director Muneer A. Satter bought more than 613,000 shares, while major firms like Bank of America and Redmile Group also increased their stakes in the company.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Annexon in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a report on Friday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Annexon currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Annexon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ANNX traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.80. 2,736,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,683,193. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.55. The company has a market cap of $950.27 million, a PE ratio of -4.75 and a beta of 1.16. Annexon has a 1-year low of $2.03 and a 1-year high of $7.18.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.07. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Annexon will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Annexon

In other news, Director Muneer A. Satter bought 613,497 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.41 per share, with a total value of $3,319,018.77. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,342,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,950,944.94. This trade represents a 6.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Carson purchased 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.78 per share, for a total transaction of $46,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 78,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $453,180.90. This represents a 11.36% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annexon

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANNX. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Annexon by 165.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,259,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654,414 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in Annexon in the first quarter valued at $328,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Annexon by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 55,000 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC raised its position in Annexon by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 14,549,768 shares of the company's stock worth $80,606,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Annexon by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 134,786 shares of the company's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the period.

Annexon Company Profile

Annexon Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of complement-targeted therapies for patients with neurodegenerative and neuroimmune diseases. The company's research platform centers on the inhibition of the C1 complex, a key initiator of the classical complement pathway implicated in several rare and life-threatening disorders. By selectively targeting upstream complement activation, Annexon aims to prevent the aberrant immune-mediated damage that characterizes conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and autoimmune neuropathies.

At the core of Annexon's pipeline is ANX005, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the C1q subcomponent, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for acute GBS and chronic neurodegenerative indications.

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