Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyEquillium (NASDAQ:EQ – Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Equillium in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on EQ
Equillium Stock Up 4.9%
Shares of EQ traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1.82. 273,285 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 466,217. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.37. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.27 and a 12-month high of $2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.82 million, a P/E ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.87.
Insider Activity at Equillium
In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $327,249.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 191,444 shares in the company, valued at $336,941.44. This represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 328,174 shares of company stock valued at $533,163 in the last quarter. 31.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Equillium
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQ. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in 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 period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Equillium by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 155,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd raised its position in shares of Equillium by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 93,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 24,132 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Equillium in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Equillium by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 345,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 34,491 shares in the last quarter. 27.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.