Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) Trading Up 7.8% Following Strong Earnings

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR)’s stock price was up 7.8% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $15.62 and last traded at $15.50. 62,648 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 485,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.38.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.19. Xencor had a negative net margin of 232.77% and a negative return on equity of 30.92%. The firm had revenue of $52.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.14 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on XNCR shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Xencor in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Xencor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Xencor in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Xencor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Xencor from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alan Bruce Montgomery sold 13,301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.03, for a total transaction of $359,526.03. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,054.20. The trade was a 59.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xencor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Xencor by 147.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,120,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,748,000 after buying an additional 1,858,440 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Xencor by 317.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,402,883 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $55,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827,883 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Xencor by 169.3% in the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,288,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $52,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438,760 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Xencor by 452.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 837,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,236,000 after purchasing an additional 685,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Finepoint Capital LP acquired a new position in Xencor during the fourth quarter worth $15,167,000.

Xencor Trading Up 4.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 6.23 and a quick ratio of 6.23.

About Xencor

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.