Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $4.96, but opened at $5.64. Annexon shares last traded at $5.7430, with a volume of 1,054,235 shares.

The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ANNX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Annexon in a report on Friday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Insider Transactions at Annexon

In other news, EVP Ted Yednock sold 7,857 shares of Annexon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $40,149.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,227 shares in the company, valued at $496,829.97. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Carson acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.67 per share, with a total value of $45,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,405 shares in the company, valued at $353,836.35. This trade represents a 14.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,513 shares of company stock valued at $165,973. Insiders own 11.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Annexon

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BVF Inc. IL lifted its stake in Annexon by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 9,128,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,823,000 after buying an additional 2,128,080 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Annexon by 8.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,797,000 after acquiring an additional 469,073 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Annexon by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,610,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Annexon by 126.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,652,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601,877 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Annexon by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,299,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,996 shares in the last quarter.

Annexon Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $641.23 million, a P/E ratio of -3.94 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.58 and its 200 day moving average is $4.57.

About Annexon

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.