Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,473,443 shares, a growth of 32.2% from the December 31st total of 1,114,202 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 605,348 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 605,348 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Equillium Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of Equillium stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, hitting $1.50. 1,038,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 568,804. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.23. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.27 and a 12-month high of $2.35. The company has a market cap of $91.15 million, a PE ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 1.87.

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.08. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equillium will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equillium

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,166. This trade represents a 52.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 150,335 shares of company stock worth $213,607. 30.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQ. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,951,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Equillium during the third quarter worth approximately $5,018,000. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Equillium by 523.6% in the fourth 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equillium by 59.4% in the third 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 period. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new stake in shares of Equillium in the third quarter worth $608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on EQ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equillium from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equillium currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1.00.

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.