Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $5.34, but opened at $5.06. Annexon shares last traded at $5.3650, with a volume of 607,735 shares.

The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.05).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ANNX. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Annexon in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Annexon in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “market underperform” rating and a $3.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Annexon from $11.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Annexon currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Annexon

In other news, Director Muneer A. Satter purchased 613,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,319,018.77. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,342,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,950,944.94. This represents a 6.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annexon

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ANNX. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Annexon during the 1st quarter worth $7,312,000. Siren L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Annexon in the 1st quarter valued at about $21,931,000. Redmile Group LLC raised its holdings in Annexon by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 14,549,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,606,000 after buying an additional 4,499,124 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Annexon in the first quarter valued at about $1,307,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Annexon by 28.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 924,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after buying an additional 205,398 shares during the last quarter.

Annexon Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $879.02 million, a PE ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.54.

Annexon Company Profile

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.