Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Xencor from hold to strong sell, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that currently leaves the stock with a consensus Hold rating and a $24.38 average price target.
• Xencor reported a much worse-than-expected quarterly loss, posting EPS of ($1.71) versus the expected ($0.75) and revenue of just $4.52 million, well below estimates and down 86.2% year over year.
• Despite the weak fundamentals, the stock rose 4.5% to $12.86; however, insider selling has continued, including recent sales by the CEO and an SVP, while analysts still expect the company to post a full-year loss.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xencor in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xencor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Xencor from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Xencor in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xencor currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.38.

Xencor Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of XNCR stock opened at $12.86 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.28 and a 200-day moving average of $13.60. Xencor has a 12-month low of $6.92 and a 12-month high of $18.69. The company has a market capitalization of $953.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 0.93.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by ($0.96). Xencor had a negative return on equity of 28.77% and a negative net margin of 177.10%.The company had revenue of $4.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 86.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Xencor will post -2.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 14,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owned 552,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,220,372.50. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Celia Eckert sold 3,244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total transaction of $36,495.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $885,206.25. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,020 shares of company stock worth $499,817. 4.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xencor

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Xencor by 209.1% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,187 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xencor in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Xencor by 118.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,568 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Xencor by 114.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,947 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Xencor by 85.5% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter.

About Xencor

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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