Short Interest in Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) Expands By 47.0%

Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,965,458 shares, a growth of 47.0% from the January 29th total of 1,336,687 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 542,633 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 542,633 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EQ shares. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Equillium in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equillium to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 191,444 shares in the company, valued at $336,941.44. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 328,174 shares of company stock worth $533,163. Insiders own 31.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equillium

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in Equillium by 133.4% in 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equillium in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equillium during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new position in shares of Equillium during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equillium in the 3rd quarter valued at $174,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

Equillium Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQ opened at $1.82 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.38. Equillium has a 1 year low of $0.27 and a 1 year high of $2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $110.82 million, a PE ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.87.

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.