Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Annexon shares opened 7% higher, rising from $3.41 to $3.65 before trading around $3.61, although the price remained below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed, with six Buy, two Hold, and two Sell ratings; the average rating was Hold, but the average price target of $15.29 implied substantial upside.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.28 per share, missing the $0.24 consensus estimate, while CEO Douglas Love bought nearly $100,000 of shares and institutional investors increased their positions.

Shares of Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $3.41, but opened at $3.65. Annexon shares last traded at $3.6050, with a volume of 300,111 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ANNX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Annexon in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Annexon from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Annexon from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.29.

Annexon Stock Up 4.0%

The stock's 50 day moving average is $4.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.15. The company has a market capitalization of $672.06 million, a PE ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 1.32.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.04). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Annexon, Inc. will post -1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Annexon

In other Annexon news, CEO Douglas Love purchased 26,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.83 per share, with a total value of $99,828.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 390,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,523.08. This trade represents a 7.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annexon

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redmile Group LLC increased 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 valued at $80,606,000 after buying an additional 4,499,124 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Annexon in the second quarter worth about $77,312,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Annexon by 165.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,259,995 shares of the company's stock worth $23,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654,414 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Annexon in the first quarter worth about $21,931,000. Finally, Palo Alto Investors LP acquired a new stake in Annexon in the second quarter worth about $16,833,594.

About Annexon

Annexon, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for diseases driven by activation of the classical complement pathway, an immune-system mechanism involved in inflammation and tissue damage. The company's approach is designed to selectively inhibit complement activity while preserving other parts of the immune response.

Annexon's pipeline has included ANX005, an investigational monoclonal antibody that targets C1q, an initiating protein in the classical complement pathway.

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