Xencor, Inc. $XNCR Shares Sold by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Xencor stake by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 537,000 shares and leaving it with 638,021 shares valued at about $9.8 million.
• Xencor’s latest earnings missed estimates by a wide margin: the company reported EPS of -$1.71 versus the expected -$0.75, while revenue fell 86.2% year over year to $4.52 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but cautious, with recent downgrades from Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research offset by higher targets from JPMorgan and Barclays; the stock’s average rating is currently “Hold.”

UBS Group AG lessened its stake in shares of Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR - Free Report) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 638,021 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 537,246 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.89% of Xencor worth $9,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xencor by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,165,450 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $109,703,000 after purchasing an additional 61,692 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xencor during the fourth quarter worth about $415,000. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xencor during the fourth quarter worth about $926,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xencor by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 128,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 37,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Xencor by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 18,442 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XNCR. Wall Street Zen lowered Xencor from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Xencor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xencor in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Xencor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Xencor from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 14,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total transaction of $167,287.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 552,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,220,372.50. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Celia Eckert sold 3,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total value of $36,495.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $885,206.25. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,020 shares of company stock valued at $499,817. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Xencor Trading Down 5.6%

NASDAQ:XNCR opened at $11.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $831.85 million, a PE ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.24 and a 200-day moving average of $13.54. Xencor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.92 and a 52 week high of $18.69.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.71) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by ($0.96). The company had revenue of $4.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.86 million. Xencor had a negative net margin of 177.10% and a negative return on equity of 28.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 86.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.66) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xencor Profile

Xencor, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the design and development of engineered protein therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, cancer and neurological disorders. The company applies its proprietary XmAb® platform to manipulate antibody structure and function, creating molecules with enhanced immune engagement and extended half-life. Xencor's research programs span a range of therapeutic modalities, including monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies and cytokine-based fusion proteins.

The XmAb® platform enables precise modification of the Fc region to augment key properties such as receptor binding, effector function and pharmacokinetics.

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