Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Upgraded by Clear Str to Strong-Buy Rating

Clear Str upgraded shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

EQ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Equillium in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Equillium in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Zacks Research cut Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Equillium in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equillium presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.57.

Equillium Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of EQ opened at $2.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.11. The company has a market capitalization of $174.51 million, a PE ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 1.77. Equillium has a 52-week low of $0.36 and a 52-week high of $3.54.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). On average, research analysts anticipate that Equillium will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equillium

In other Equillium news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 14,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.93, for a total value of $42,731.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,376.98. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stephen Connelly sold 30,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $91,066.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 762,025 shares in the company, valued at $2,240,353.50. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 406,392 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,898 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Equillium by 523.6% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,366,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987,162 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lifted 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 purchasing an additional 24,132 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equillium by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 155,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth about $174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.