Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS) Shares Climb 9.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Xeris Biopharma shares jumped 9.2% to roughly $9.92, while trading volume was about 48% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Barclays and Leerink Partners raised their price targets to $12 and $16, respectively, but the consensus rating is still Hold with a $12.80 target.
• The company exceeded revenue estimates but missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a $0.18 loss per share versus the expected $0.01 profit. Insiders also sold $1.44 million of stock over the past three months.

Shares of Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:XERS - Get Free Report) were up 9.2% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $9.80 and last traded at $9.9170. Approximately 1,032,657 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 1,985,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XERS. Barclays upped their price target on Xeris Biopharma from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Xeris Biopharma from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Xeris Biopharma from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Xeris Biopharma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xeris Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.80.

Xeris Biopharma Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.00, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.46 and a 200 day moving average of $7.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.23 and a beta of 0.53.

Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $92.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.12 million. Xeris Biopharma had a negative net margin of 5.12% and a positive return on equity of 338.21%. Sell-side analysts predict that Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kevin McCulloch sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.41, for a total value of $141,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,599,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,048,547.28. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Pieper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.41, for a total value of $47,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,351,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,713,408.73. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 162,598 shares of company stock worth $1,437,818 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Xeris Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $34,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Xeris Biopharma in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Xeris Biopharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Xeris Biopharma during the second quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Xeris Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.75% of the company's stock.

Xeris Biopharma Company Profile

Xeris Biopharma, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with endocrinology, gastroenterology, and related rare or chronic conditions. The company uses proprietary formulation technologies designed to deliver medicines that are difficult to formulate or administer through conventional methods, including its XeriSol and XeriJect platforms.

Xeris' commercial portfolio includes Gvoke, a ready-to-use glucagon injection used to treat severe hypoglycemia; Keveyis (dichlorphenamide), a treatment for primary periodic paralysis; and Recorlev (levoketoconazole), an oral therapy for endogenous hypercortisolemia associated with Cushing's syndrome.

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