Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Exagen to a "sell" — the firm moved XGN from a "hold" to a "sell" rating in a research note published on Sunday.
• Analyst consensus remains mildly positive — nine analysts still rate the stock a Buy vs. one Sell, giving Exagen a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a consensus target price of $9.63, though several firms recently trimmed targets to $10.
• Shares and fundamentals are weak — XGN opened around $3.08 (52‑week range $2.59–$12.23) with a $74M market cap, negative EPS/margins, and the CEO sold 15,698 shares on March 3rd.

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

XGN has been the topic of several other reports. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Exagen from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group set a $10.00 price target on shares of Exagen in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Exagen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Exagen from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Exagen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exagen presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.63.

Exagen Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:XGN opened at $3.08 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $3.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.45. Exagen has a one year low of $2.59 and a one year high of $12.23. The company has a market cap of $74.07 million, a PE ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 1.93.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Aballi sold 15,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.62, for a total value of $56,826.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Exagen

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exagen in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exagen in the 3rd quarter valued at $105,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Exagen in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exagen in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 75.25% of the company's stock.

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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