Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01, FiscalAI reports.

Equillium Trading Up 9.2%

Shares of NASDAQ EQ traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $2.19. 212,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 628,965. Equillium has a fifty-two week low of $0.76 and a fifty-two week high of $3.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.66 and a 200 day moving average of $2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.79 million, a PE ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Insider Transactions at Equillium

In related news, insider Stephen Connelly sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.16, for a total value of $632,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 793,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,880. This trade represents a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 86,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total transaction of $240,833.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,240.80. The trade was a 57.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 406,392 shares of company stock worth $1,224,898 in the last three months. Company insiders own 17.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equillium

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQ. Diadema Partners LP raised its position in shares of Equillium by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Diadema Partners LP now owns 347,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 47,393 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its position in Equillium by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 428,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Equillium by 13.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Equillium by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 733,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 118,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equillium by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 345,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 34,491 shares during the last quarter. 27.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Clear Str raised Equillium to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Leerink Partners raised shares of Equillium from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $1.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Equillium in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Equillium in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equillium currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.57.

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.