XP (NASDAQ:XP) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• XP shares fell 3.2% to about $18.97 while trading volume nearly doubled to 11.7 million shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook: XP has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $23.00 target price, despite UBS lowering its target to $25.00.
• XP exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.53 versus $0.50 expected and revenue of $943.55 million, up 8.3% year over year. Institutional investors own approximately 59.15% of the company.

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 11,737,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 98% from the previous session's volume of 5,919,440 shares.The stock last traded at $18.9680 and had previously closed at $19.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on XP shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on XP from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of XP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised XP from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

XP Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.80, a current ratio of 4.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.08.

XP (NASDAQ:XP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $943.55 million during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that XP Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

XP declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of XP

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of XP in the 1st quarter worth about $3,071,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in XP by 244.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 206,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,935,000 after purchasing an additional 146,763 shares during the last quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new position in XP during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,216,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in XP by 876.6% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,062,720 shares of the company's stock worth $20,179,000 after purchasing an additional 953,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in XP by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 209,252 shares of the company's stock worth $3,984,000 after purchasing an additional 64,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.15% of the company's stock.

XP Company Profile

XP Inc provides financial products and services in Brazil. It offers securities brokerage, private pension plans, commercial, and investment banking products, such as loan operations and transactions in the foreign exchange markets and deposits; product structuring and capital markets services for corporate clients and issuers of fixed income products; advisory services for mass-affluent and institutional clients; and wealth management services for high-net-worth customers and institutional clients.

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