Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,284,598 shares, a growth of 33.4% from the December 15th total of 12,204,357 shares. Approximately 15.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,721,550 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,721,550 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Approximately 15.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Annexon

In other Annexon news, Director Jung Choi purchased 33,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.19 per share, for a total transaction of $138,270.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 33,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,270. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Muneer A. Satter acquired 422,613 shares of Annexon stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.28 per share, with a total value of $1,808,783.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,728,637 shares in the company, valued at $41,638,566.36. This represents a 4.54% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders bought 1,867,958 shares of company stock worth $7,256,150. Insiders own 11.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annexon

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Annexon by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,797,000 after purchasing 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 worth $9,830,000 after buying an additional 697,978 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Annexon by 12.3% during the third 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 position in Annexon by 6.0% during the second quarter. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd now owns 2,810,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,744,000 after acquiring an additional 160,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Annexon by 150.4% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,638,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,566 shares in the last quarter.

Annexon Price Performance

Shares of Annexon stock opened at $6.07 on Friday. Annexon has a 1 year low of $1.28 and a 1 year high of $6.83. The firm has a market cap of $726.17 million, a PE ratio of -4.30 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.37.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). As a group, research analysts anticipate that Annexon will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ANNX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Annexon from $14.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Chardan Capital assumed coverage on shares of Annexon in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Annexon Company Profile

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.