Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.5714.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $5.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Equillium from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $1.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th.

Equillium Price Performance

NASDAQ EQ opened at $3.05 on Friday. Equillium has a 1 year low of $0.27 and a 1 year high of $3.45. The firm has a market cap of $192.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.84.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). On average, research analysts anticipate that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equillium

In related news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 86,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total transaction of $240,833.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 62,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,240.80. This represents a 57.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction of $191,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,750. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 406,392 shares of company stock worth $1,224,898. 17.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQ. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Equillium during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,057,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equillium during the third quarter valued at about $7,951,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Equillium during the third quarter valued at about $5,018,000. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Equillium by 523.6% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,366,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eversept Partners LP purchased a new stake in Equillium during the first quarter valued at about $2,998,000. Institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

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.