XP (NASDAQ:XP) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• XP shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $25.14 amid elevated investor interest.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Citigroup raised its price target to $25, Itau BBA upgraded the stock to “outperform,” and XP has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $23.50 target.
• XP exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.53 in EPS versus $0.50 expected and $943.55 million in revenue, up 8.3% year over year; institutional investors own 59.15% of the company.

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $25.14 and last traded at $27.4870, with a volume of 449880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on XP shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of XP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of XP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded XP from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

XP Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $18.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 4.80, a current ratio of 4.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

XP (NASDAQ:XP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $943.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.15 million. XP had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 27.20%.The company's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that XP Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other XP news, Director Bruno Constantino Alexandre dos Santos sold 123,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total value of $2,413,372.06. Following the sale, the director owned 1,500,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,370,000. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Trading of XP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of XP by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 207,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 100,677 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in XP by 161.9% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 168,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 103,990 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of XP during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in XP by 83.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 165,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,687,000 after acquiring an additional 75,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in XP in the second quarter valued at about $402,000. Institutional investors own 59.15% of the company's stock.

XP Company Profile

XP Inc is a Brazil-based financial services platform that provides investment, banking and related financial products to individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Through its digital platforms and network of financial professionals, the company offers access to investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, real estate funds, retirement products and insurance.

The company operates a portfolio of brands that includes XP, Rico and Clear, serving customers with different investment needs and levels of experience.

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