Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $12.74, but opened at $11.85. Xencor shares last traded at $11.53, with a volume of 514,772 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 6,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.90, for a total value of $80,420.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 567,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,756,724.80. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John R. Desjarlais sold 2,663 shares of Xencor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.90, for a total value of $31,689.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 270,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,366.90. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on XNCR shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Xencor in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Xencor from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Xencor from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Xencor from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

Xencor Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.96 and a 200-day moving average of $12.91. The company has a market cap of $833.13 million, a PE ratio of -9.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 6.25, a current ratio of 6.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Institutional Trading of Xencor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new position in Xencor during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,677,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Xencor by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 265,820 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 14,216 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xencor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Xencor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $490,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xencor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,343,000.

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.