Wall Street Zen Downgrades Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) to Sell
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyEquillium (NASDAQ:EQ – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.
EQ has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Equillium in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on EQ
Equillium Stock Up 4.9%
Equillium stock opened at $1.82 on Friday. Equillium has a 12 month low of $0.27 and a 12 month high of $2.35. The stock has a market cap of $110.82 million, a P/E ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.38.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $327,249.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 191,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,941.44. The trade was a 49.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 328,174 shares of company stock valued at $533,163. 30.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Equillium by 133.4% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in Equillium in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Equillium in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $174,000. 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.