Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Equillium in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.00.

Equillium Trading Up 4.9%

EQ opened at $1.82 on Thursday. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.27 and a 12-month high of $2.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.82 million, a PE ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equillium news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $327,249.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 191,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,941.44. This represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 328,174 shares of company stock valued at $533,163 over the last three months. 31.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in Equillium by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 13,591 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of 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 $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equillium in the 3rd quarter valued at $174,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Equillium Company Profile

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.