Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Equillium from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $7.57.
• Equillium shares opened at $2.36, with a market capitalization of approximately $149 million; the company recently reported a quarterly loss of $0.04 per share, beating estimates by $0.01.
• Insiders have sold 406,392 shares worth about $1.22 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 27.05% of the company and several funds have recently established positions.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

EQ has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Equillium from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $1.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research raised Equillium from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer began coverage on Equillium in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.57.

Equillium Trading Up 17.4%

Shares of Equillium stock opened at $2.36 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $2.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.23. The company has a market cap of $149.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.80 and a beta of 1.82. Equillium has a 1 year low of $0.76 and a 1 year high of $3.54.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equillium will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Penny Tom sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.95, for a total value of $191,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 65,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $191,750. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stephen Connelly sold 30,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $91,066.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 762,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,240,353.50. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock worth $1,224,898. Corporate insiders own 17.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium in the 2nd quarter valued at $20,685,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 4th quarter worth about $9,057,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,951,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,018,000. Finally, Eversept Partners LP bought a new position in Equillium during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,998,000. 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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