Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANNX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $4.06, but opened at $4.40. Annexon shares last traded at $4.8030, with a volume of 2,547,311 shares.

Specifically, Director Muneer A. Satter bought 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.94 per share, for a total transaction of $1,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,906,024 shares in the company, valued at $35,089,734.56. This trade represents a 5.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Muneer A. Satter purchased 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $2.99 per share, with a total value of $1,495,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 7,906,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,639,011.76. This represents a 6.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Annexon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Annexon in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Annexon in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Annexon from $14.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.33.

Annexon Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $582.49 million, a P/E ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.56.

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.03). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Annexon, Inc. will post -0.96 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annexon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Annexon in the 1st quarter worth $670,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in shares of Annexon by 49.9% during the second quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 381,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 126,903 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Annexon by 32.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 356,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 88,314 shares during the last quarter. Matauro LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Annexon during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Annexon by 65.4% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 58,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 22,979 shares during the last quarter.

About Annexon

Annexon, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops medicines for treating inflammatory-related diseases. Its lead candidate is ANX005, an investigational full-length monoclonal antibody, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with guillain-barré syndrome; completed Phase II clinical trial for treating Huntington's disease; and in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.