Benchmark Begins Coverage on XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA)

Equities researchers at Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target suggests a potential upside of 65.25% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded XOMA from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of XOMA in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.67.

XOMA Stock Up 3.2 %

XOMA opened at $21.18 on Thursday. XOMA has a twelve month low of $18.35 and a twelve month high of $35.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 7.52 and a current ratio of 7.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.02. The firm has a market cap of $253.16 million, a P/E ratio of -6.09 and a beta of 1.00.

XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 17th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $8.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.75 million. XOMA had a negative return on equity of 24.95% and a negative net margin of 151.34%. Research analysts forecast that XOMA will post -1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at XOMA

In other news, Director Joseph M. Limber bought 5,243 shares of XOMA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.60 per share, with a total value of $134,220.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $256,000. This trade represents a 110.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Bradley Sitko purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.70 per share, for a total transaction of $49,400.00. Following the acquisition, the executive now directly owns 5,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,611.50. This trade represents a 65.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 29,312 shares of company stock worth $735,061. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of XOMA

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in XOMA by 1,063.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in XOMA by 95.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,632 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in XOMA by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in XOMA by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of XOMA by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,796 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. 95.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

XOMA Company Profile

XOMA Corporation operates as a biotech royalty aggregator in the United States and the Asia Pacific. It has a portfolio of economic rights to future potential milestone and royalty payments associated with partnered commercial and pre-commercial therapeutic candidates. The company also focuses on early to mid-stage clinical assets primarily in Phase 1 and 2 with commercial sales potential that are licensed to partners; and acquires milestone and royalty revenue streams on late-stage clinical or commercial assets.