Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Trading Up 10.4% on Earnings Beat

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR) shot up 10.4% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $12.99 and last traded at $13.2250. 92,547 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 629,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.98.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.55. Xencor had a negative return on equity of 14.62% and a negative net margin of 73.20%.The business had revenue of $28.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 46.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XNCR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Barclays increased 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xencor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xencor in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Xencor from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Xencor by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,187 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Xencor during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Xencor by 118.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,568 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Xencor by 114.3% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,947 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter.

Xencor Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $936.55 million, a P/E ratio of -10.30 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.78.

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.