Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Shares Up 7.3% - Here's What Happened

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 7.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.70 and last traded at $8.88. 52,803 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 678,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Xencor from $22.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xencor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair assumed coverage on Xencor in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Xencor in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Xencor Trading Down 4.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 5.89 and a quick ratio of 5.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.81.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.44 million. Xencor had a negative return on equity of 31.94% and a negative net margin of 181.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 104.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.11) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nancy Valente sold 4,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total value of $50,914.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 49,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $542,334.07. This represents a 8.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Ranieri sold 2,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.22, for a total value of $27,595.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,183 shares in the company, valued at $176,867.26. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,810 shares of company stock valued at $154,123. Insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xencor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XNCR. RTW Investments LP lifted its position in Xencor by 317.9% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,402,883 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $55,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,827,883 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 169.3% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,288,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $52,596,000 after buying an additional 1,438,760 shares during the period. Braidwell LP lifted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 169.0% during the 1st quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,655,690 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $17,617,000 after buying an additional 1,040,159 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 9,761,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $103,857,000 after buying an additional 776,580 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 452.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 837,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $19,236,000 after buying an additional 685,557 shares during the period.

Xencor Company Profile

Xencor, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of engineered monoclonal antibody and cytokine therapeutics to treat patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company provides Sotrovimab that targets the SARS-CoV-2 virus; Ultomiris for the treatment of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome; and Monjuvi for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.