Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Xencor, Inc. $XNCR

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Xencor, Inc. by 66.9% in Q1, acquiring an additional 34,765 shares to own a total of 86,741 shares valued at approximately $923,000.
• Several other hedge funds have also recently invested in Xencor, with notable increases from CWM LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, showcasing growing interest in the company's stock.
• Analyst ratings have varied, with price targets for Xencor being cut by various brokerage firms, leading to an average price target of $23.71 amid a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR - Free Report) by 66.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,741 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,765 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Xencor worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Xencor by 8.6% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 9,761,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $103,857,000 after buying an additional 776,580 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP increased its holdings in Xencor by 317.9% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,402,883 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $55,218,000 after buying an additional 1,827,883 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Xencor by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,501,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,509,000 after buying an additional 102,297 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Xencor by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 845,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $19,439,000 after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Xencor by 452.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 837,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $19,236,000 after buying an additional 685,557 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XNCR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Xencor in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Xencor from $32.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Xencor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $23.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Xencor from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seven 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.25.

Xencor Stock Performance

Xencor stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.55. 665,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,169. Xencor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.92 and a 12-month high of $27.24. The stock has a market cap of $609.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.56 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.59.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.37. Xencor had a negative net margin of 121.52% and a negative return on equity of 25.75%. The company had revenue of $43.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.07) EPS. Xencor's revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xencor news, Director Ellen Feigal sold 2,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.22, for a total transaction of $27,595.46. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,867.26. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Ranieri sold 2,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.22, for a total transaction of $27,595.46. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,183 shares in the company, valued at $176,867.26. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,194 shares of company stock valued at $103,209. Insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Xencor Profile

Xencor, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of engineered monoclonal antibody and cytokine therapeutics to treat patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company provides Sotrovimab that targets the SARS-CoV-2 virus; Ultomiris for the treatment of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome; and Monjuvi for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.