Short Interest in Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Grows By 36.6%

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,727,834 shares, a growth of 36.6% from the March 15th total of 1,996,887 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 476,909 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Equillium Stock Up 6.8%

Shares of NASDAQ EQ traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.05. The company had a trading volume of 646,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,288. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.27 and a 12-month high of $2.70. The stock has a market cap of $129.62 million, a PE ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1.86 and its 200 day moving average is $1.46.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. On average, analysts anticipate that Equillium will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EQ shares. Zacks Research raised Equillium to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Equillium in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on Equillium in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equillium currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $327,249.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 191,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,941.44. This represents a 49.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 487,468 shares of company stock valued at $990,467. 30.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equillium

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQ. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the fourth quarter worth $9,057,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the third quarter worth $7,951,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,018,000. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Equillium by 523.6% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,366,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equillium by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,313,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 489,855 shares during the last quarter. 27.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.