Exagen Inc. (NASDAQ:XGN) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 34.3% in March to 1,534,970 shares, equal to about 7.3% of the float and a 5.9 days-to-cover ratio based on average daily volume.
• CEO John Aballi sold 15,698 shares at $3.62 on March 3, trimming his position by 2.23%, while insiders collectively still own 12.60% of the company.
• Analysts show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" (nine Buys, one Sell) with an average price target of $9.63, despite lowered targets; Exagen has a small market cap (~$73.11M) and remains loss-making on a per-share basis.

Exagen Inc. (NASDAQ:XGN - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,534,970 shares, an increase of 34.3% from the March 15th total of 1,143,312 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 261,073 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days. Approximately 7.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Aballi sold 15,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.62, for a total transaction of $56,826.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,488,022.38. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XGN. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exagen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exagen by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Exagen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exagen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exagen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.25% of the company's stock.

Exagen Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ XGN opened at $3.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $73.11 million, a P/E ratio of -3.30 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 3.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.33. Exagen has a fifty-two week low of $2.59 and a fifty-two week high of $12.23.

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20). The company had revenue of $16.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.46 million. Exagen had a negative return on equity of 105.03% and a negative net margin of 29.97%. On average, analysts forecast that Exagen will post -0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Exagen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $8.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Exagen in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Exagen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group set a $10.00 target price on Exagen in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Exagen from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.63.

About Exagen

Exagen Inc is a molecular diagnostics company focused on improving the detection and management of autoimmune diseases. Headquartered in the United States, the company develops, manufactures and markets laboratory tests designed to help clinicians address diagnostic challenges associated with complex connective tissue disorders.

The company's flagship product portfolio, marketed under the Avise® brand, includes multi-analyte assays such as the Avise® Connective Tissue Disease (CTD) panel, Avise® Lupus panel and Avise® Sjögren's panel.

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