Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Insider Stephen Connelly Sells 200,000 Shares of Stock

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) 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 transaction of $632,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 793,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,880. This represents a 20.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Stephen Connelly also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 5th, Stephen Connelly sold 30,975 shares of Equillium stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $91,066.50.

Equillium Price Performance

NASDAQ EQ opened at $2.94 on Friday. Equillium, Inc. has a 12 month low of $0.27 and a 12 month high of $3.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.90 million, a PE ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.71.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted 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). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equillium, Inc. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQ. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in Equillium during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Equillium by 133.4% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 13,591 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in shares of Equillium during the 1st quarter valued at $100,000. 27.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQ. Stifel Nicolaus set a $5.00 price objective on Equillium in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Friday, March 27th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Equillium in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley Financial began coverage on Equillium in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.57.

About Equillium

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.