Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $5.42, but opened at $5.92. Annexon shares last traded at $5.5480, with a volume of 532,253 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Muneer A. Satter acquired 613,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,319,018.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,342,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,950,944.94. This trade represents a 6.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ANNX shares. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Annexon in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Annexon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Annexon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Annexon Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $890.80 million, a PE ratio of -4.44 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.63 and a 200-day moving average of $5.33.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.07. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Annexon, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Annexon by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Annexon by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC grew its stake in Annexon by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 356,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Annexon by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Annexon by 3.6% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 134,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter.

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.