Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.6667.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQ shares. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Equillium to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equillium news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 181,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.00, for a total value of $362,438.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,172. This trade represents a 74.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQ. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Equillium by 133.4% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium during the first quarter worth about $31,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Equillium by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 155,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd increased its position in shares of Equillium by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 93,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 24,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 27.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equillium Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of EQ opened at $2.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.69 million, a P/E ratio of -7.25 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.61. Equillium has a twelve month low of $0.27 and a twelve month high of $2.70.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Sell-side analysts predict that Equillium will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

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.