Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 258,300 Shares of Annexon, Inc. $ANNX

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) by 32.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 544,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 258,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Annexon were worth $3,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANNX. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Annexon during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Annexon in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Annexon by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Annexon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Annexon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000.

Annexon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ANNX opened at $5.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.56. Annexon, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.03 and a fifty-two week high of $7.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $886.39 million, a P/E ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.18.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.07. Sell-side analysts expect that Annexon, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William H. Carson purchased 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.78 per share, with a total value of $46,240.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 78,405 shares in the company, valued at $453,180.90. This trade represents a 11.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Muneer A. Satter purchased 613,497 shares of Annexon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 $55,950,944.94. The trade was a 6.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 10.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ANNX shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Annexon in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “market underperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Annexon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Annexon from $11.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Annexon in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.33.

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.