Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on ANNX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Chardan Capital initiated coverage on Annexon in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Annexon from $14.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Annexon Price Performance

Annexon stock opened at $6.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $722.57 million, a P/E ratio of -4.28 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.72. Annexon has a 52-week low of $1.28 and a 52-week high of $7.18.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.03). On average, equities research analysts predict that Annexon will post -0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Muneer A. Satter acquired 422,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.28 per share, for a total transaction of $1,808,783.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,728,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,638,566.36. The trade was a 4.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jung Choi bought 33,000 shares of Annexon stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.19 per share, for a total transaction of $138,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,270. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 1,863,843 shares of company stock valued at $7,243,105 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annexon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Annexon by 8.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,797,000 after acquiring an additional 469,073 shares during the last quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Annexon by 20.5% in the second quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC now owns 4,095,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,830,000 after acquiring an additional 697,978 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Annexon by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,822,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,610,000 after acquiring an additional 308,689 shares during the last quarter. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd grew its stake in shares of Annexon by 6.0% during the second quarter. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd now owns 2,810,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,744,000 after purchasing an additional 160,000 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Annexon by 150.4% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,638,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584,566 shares during the last quarter.

About Annexon

Annexon Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of complement-targeted therapies for patients with neurodegenerative and neuroimmune diseases. The company’s research platform centers on the inhibition of the C1 complex, a key initiator of the classical complement pathway implicated in several rare and life-threatening disorders. By selectively targeting upstream complement activation, Annexon aims to prevent the aberrant immune-mediated damage that characterizes conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and autoimmune neuropathies.

At the core of Annexon’s pipeline is ANX005, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the C1q subcomponent, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for acute GBS and chronic neurodegenerative indications.