Wall Street Zen Upgrades Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Xeris Biopharma to “Buy” from “Hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $12.80.
• Xeris shares opened at $8.20, while the company’s latest quarterly revenue of $92.1 million exceeded expectations; however, it reported an adjusted loss of $0.18 per share versus the expected $0.01 profit.
• Institutional ownership increased, including a new BlackRock stake valued at approximately $115 million, while insiders sold nearly 225,000 shares worth $1.85 million over the past 90 days.

Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Xeris Biopharma from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Xeris Biopharma from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Xeris Biopharma from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xeris Biopharma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.80.

Xeris Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of XERS stock opened at $8.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.07. Xeris Biopharma has a 52 week low of $5.25 and a 52 week high of $10.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -74.55 and a beta of 0.70.

Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $92.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.12 million. Xeris Biopharma had a positive return on equity of 338.21% and a negative net margin of 5.12%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xeris Biopharma will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kevin McCulloch sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total value of $127,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,639,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,916,875.92. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Pieper sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.50, for a total transaction of $42,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,356,053 shares in the company, valued at $11,526,450.50. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 224,998 shares of company stock worth $1,847,219. Company insiders own 4.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Xeris Biopharma

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Xeris Biopharma during the second quarter worth approximately $115,042,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Xeris Biopharma by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,365,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,732,000 after purchasing an additional 193,749 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Xeris Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,941,000. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xeris Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,316,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Xeris Biopharma by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,742,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,804,000 after purchasing an additional 585,984 shares during the last quarter. 42.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xeris Biopharma Company Profile

Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: XERS is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies using proprietary formulation and drug-delivery technologies. Its platforms, including XeriSol and XeriJect, are designed to enable liquid or ready-to-use formulations of medicines that may otherwise require refrigeration, reconstitution, or administration by a healthcare professional.

The company's commercial products include Gvoke, a ready-to-use glucagon injection for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; Keveyis (dichlorphenamide), an oral therapy for primary periodic paralysis; and Recorlev (levoketoconazole), an oral treatment for endogenous hypercortisolemia in adults with Cushing's syndrome.

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