Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• Research firm B. Riley initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $6 price target (about a 195% upside); MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $7.80 average target.
• Insider selling has been heavy recently: the COO sold 120,312 shares (a 65.78% reduction in her stake) and insiders sold 487,468 shares worth roughly $990,467 over the past three months.
• Equillium is a clinical-stage biopharma focused on immunotherapies, led by lead candidate EQ001 (itolizumab), a CD6-targeting monoclonal antibody for autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection.

Research analysts at B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley Financial's target price indicates a potential upside of 194.84% from the stock's current price.

EQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Equillium in a report on Monday. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equillium from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Equillium in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equillium to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.80.

Equillium Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:EQ traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $2.04. 17,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 514,071. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.46. Equillium has a 52 week low of $0.27 and a 52 week high of $2.70. The company has a market cap of $128.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 1.75.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. On average, analysts predict that Equillium will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equillium

In other Equillium news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 120,312 shares of Equillium stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $300,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,465. The trade was a 65.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 487,468 shares of company stock worth $990,467. Company insiders own 31.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQ. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equillium by 133.4% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Equillium during the third quarter worth approximately $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the fourth quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the third quarter worth approximately $174,000. 27.05% of the stock is 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.

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