Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Leerink Partners

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Leerink Partners from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective points to a potential upside of 128.14% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Equillium to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Equillium in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Equillium in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.43.

Equillium Stock Performance

Shares of EQ opened at $2.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.22 and a beta of 1.67. Equillium has a one year low of $0.27 and a one year high of $2.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2.08 and its 200-day moving average is $1.62.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last issued its quarterly 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). Analysts forecast that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 120,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $300,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,465. This represents a 65.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQ. 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in Equillium in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Equillium by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 155,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 17,900 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Equillium by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 93,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 24,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Equillium in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 27.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.