Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Price Target Raised to $25.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised Annexon’s price target from $11 to $25 and kept a buy rating, implying roughly 350% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: while some firms reiterated buy/overweight ratings, others downgraded or issued sell/neutral views. MarketBeat says the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $17.80 average target.
• Annexon recently reported a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.23 per share versus the $0.30 estimate, and company directors have been buying shares, signaling insider confidence.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $11.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 350.45% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ANNX. Wall Street Zen lowered Annexon from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Monday. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Annexon in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Annexon in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.80.

Annexon Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:ANNX opened at $5.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.56. Annexon has a 52-week low of $2.03 and a 52-week high of $7.18. The company has a market capitalization of $909.31 million, a PE ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annexon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANNX. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Annexon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Annexon during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Annexon by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,033 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,785 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Annexon in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Annexon in the fourth quarter worth $52,000.

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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