Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Stock Price Up 6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Xencor's stock price rose by 6% during mid-day trading, reaching $8.62 after previously closing at $8.13, though trading volume dropped significantly by 79% compared to its average.
• Multiple analysts have revised their target prices for Xencor, with Barclays cutting it to $6.00, while Wells Fargo maintains a target of $27.00, suggesting divergent views on the company's future performance.
• The company reported an earnings beat with a loss of ($0.41) EPS, significantly improving from the expected ($0.78), and revenue surged 82.4% year-over-year, totaling $43.61 million.

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.64 and last traded at $8.62. 160,220 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 759,166 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut Xencor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Xencor in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Xencor from $32.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Xencor from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.25.

Xencor Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $609.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.56 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.59.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.37. Xencor had a negative net margin of 121.52% and a negative return on equity of 25.75%. The company had revenue of $43.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.07) earnings per share. Xencor's revenue for the quarter was up 82.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Xencor

In other Xencor news, Director Kurt A. Gustafson sold 2,993 shares of Xencor stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 20,183 shares in the company, valued at $186,087.26. This trade represents a 12.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Ranieri sold 2,993 shares of Xencor stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.22, for a total transaction of $27,595.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,867.26. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,194 shares of company stock worth $103,209. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xencor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Xencor by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 59,326 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Xencor by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 33,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Xencor in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Xencor by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,272 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Xencor by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 30,721 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter.

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.