Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Shares Pass Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Technical breakout: Xencor's shares moved above their 50‑day moving average ($11.99) on Monday, trading as high as $13.30 and last at $12.07, though the stock remains below its 200‑day average of $13.61.
• Mixed analyst view but positive consensus: Analysts are split—seven Buys, two Holds and one Sell—yielding a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $24.38 target, despite divergent notes like JPMorgan's $13 target and Barclays' $27 target.
• Fundamentals and insider activity: Xencor beat EPS expectations for the quarter (-$0.09 vs. -$0.64) but revenue fell 46.6% year‑over‑year and the company remains unprofitable with a negative margin and FY EPS forecast of -3.68, while insiders have sold shares recently.

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.99 and traded as high as $13.30. Xencor shares last traded at $12.07, with a volume of 771,730 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on XNCR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Xencor in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Xencor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xencor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xencor in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xencor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.38.

Xencor Stock Down 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 6.25 and a quick ratio of 6.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $885.20 million, a PE ratio of -9.73 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.61.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.55. Xencor had a negative return on equity of 14.58% and a negative net margin of 73.20%.The firm had revenue of $28.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.62) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 46.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Xencor

In related news, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 14,870 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total transaction of $167,287.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 552,922 shares in the company, valued at $6,220,372.50. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John R. Desjarlais sold 4,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total transaction of $46,327.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 266,333 shares in the company, valued at $2,996,246.25. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 44,020 shares of company stock worth $499,817 over the last 90 days. 4.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xencor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Xencor by 3,150.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 363,153 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 351,979 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xencor in the third quarter worth $1,062,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Xencor by 1.4% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,675,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $125,218,000 after purchasing an additional 147,700 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xencor in the third quarter worth about $1,173,000. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its holdings in Xencor by 64.4% in the third quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,102,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,928,000 after purchasing an additional 431,675 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.

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