Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Xencor shares gapped down, opening at $11.37 after a $12.05 close and last trading at $11.39 on volume of 248,006 shares.
• The company reported an EPS beat of ($0.09) vs. ($0.64) expected, but revenue fell 46.6% year-over-year to $28.24 million and Xencor remains unprofitable with a negative net margin of 73.2%.
• Analyst views are mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $24.38, yet several recent downgrades and price-target cuts (e.g., JPMorgan to $13; Wall Street Zen and Weiss rating sells) highlight diverging opinions.

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.05, but opened at $11.37. Xencor shares last traded at $11.39, with a volume of 248,006 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on XNCR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Xencor in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xencor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xencor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Xencor in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Xencor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xencor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.38.

Xencor Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.30. The company has a quick ratio of 6.25, a current ratio of 6.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $819.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.01 and a beta of 0.95.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $28.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.97 million. Xencor had a negative return on equity of 14.58% and a negative net margin of 73.20%.Xencor's revenue was down 46.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.62) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xencor news, SVP Celia Eckert sold 3,244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $885,206.25. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 6,606 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $72,798.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 546,316 shares in the company, valued at $6,020,402.32. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,020 shares of company stock valued at $499,817. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xencor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XNCR. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Xencor by 4.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xencor by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,853 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Xencor by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Xencor by 4.3% in the second quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 33,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Xencor by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the period.

Xencor Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.