Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Price Target Raised to $27.00 at Barclays

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Barclays from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 98.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Xencor from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Xencor from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xencor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Xencor from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Xencor in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xencor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

Xencor Trading Up 13.6%

XNCR traded up $1.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.61. 192,648 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,620. The stock has a market capitalization of $971.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.73. Xencor has a 12-month low of $6.92 and a 12-month high of $18.69.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.64) by $0.55. Xencor had a negative return on equity of 20.44% and a negative net margin of 87.14%.The firm had revenue of $28.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 46.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Xencor will post -3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Xencor

In related news, VP John R. Desjarlais sold 73,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.72, for a total transaction of $1,153,329.24. Following the sale, the vice president owned 236,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,718,943.28. This represents a 23.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 114,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.71, for a total transaction of $1,796,862.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 466,635 shares in the company, valued at $7,330,835.85. This represents a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xencor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XNCR. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the period. 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 valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Xencor by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Xencor by 4.3% during 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 increased its position in Xencor by 77.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 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.