Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Short Interest Up 22.7% in December

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 944,698 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the November 30th total of 770,137 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 512,122 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 512,122 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Equillium

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,166. This represents a 52.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,802 shares of company stock valued at $205,179. Insiders own 31.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQ. Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the third quarter worth approximately $543,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Equillium by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,313,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 489,855 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Equillium in the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Equillium in the third quarter worth $190,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equillium during the third quarter worth $7,951,000. Institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equillium has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1.00.

Equillium Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EQ remained flat at $1.55 during midday trading on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 535,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,886. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.07. Equillium has a one year low of $0.27 and a one year high of $2.35.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.08. Equities analysts forecast that Equillium will post 0.14 EPS 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.