Short Interest in XBiotech Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIT) Grows By 21.3%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 21.3% to 144,176 shares as of March 31, representing about 0.7% of the company's stock and a days-to-cover ratio of 2.2.
• Analyst sentiment is negative — Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" and MarketBeat's average rating for XBiotech is "Sell."
• Stock and earnings snapshot: shares opened at $2.43 with a market cap of $74.1M, and the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.88 per share.

XBiotech Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 144,176 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the March 15th total of 118,904 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 64,178 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of XBiotech in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Sell".

XBiotech Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of XBIT opened at $2.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.09 million, a P/E ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 0.84. XBiotech has a twelve month low of $2.09 and a twelve month high of $3.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.35 and a 200-day moving average of $2.44.

XBiotech (NASDAQ:XBIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XBiotech

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of XBiotech by 27.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 4,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of XBiotech by 41.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,208 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,344 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of XBiotech by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,006 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of XBiotech by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 21,703 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of XBiotech by 31.8% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 42,816 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 10,333 shares in the last quarter. 55.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

XBiotech Company Profile

XBiotech Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing human antibodies to treat cancer and other inflammatory-driven diseases. The company's core technology, the True Human™ antibody platform, enables the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies that mimic the human immune response without the need for genetic humanization. XBiotech's lead therapeutic candidate targets interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α), a key mediator of inflammation associated with tumor growth and chronic disease.

The company's most advanced program, Xilonix® (MABp1), is a first-in-class anti-IL-1α antibody that has completed Phase 3 clinical trials in metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

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