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

Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. 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 trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Bassil I. Dahiyat sold 6,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.90, for a total transaction of $80,420.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 567,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,756,724.80. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John R. Desjarlais sold 2,663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.90, for a total transaction of $31,689.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 270,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,366.90. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XNCR. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xencor in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xencor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Xencor in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Xencor from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Xencor in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Xencor

Here are the key news stories impacting Xencor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Xencor reported an EPS beat for the latest quarter and retains a strong liquidity position (high current/quick ratios), which cushions near‑term financing risk and supports ongoing R&D programs. MarketBeat: Xencor company page
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Bassil Dahiyat disclosed a sale of 6,758 shares at about $11.90 (roughly $80k). The sale reduced his stake by ~1.18% and may reflect routine diversification rather than a company-specific signal. SEC Form 4: CEO sale
• Negative Sentiment: Reported royalty rift: Alexion has cut off U.S. royalty payments to Xencor tied to Ultomiris, and Xencor said it is revising its Ultomiris royalty revenue forecast — a direct hit to near‑term revenue and the main catalyst for the share decline. Benzinga: Royalty rift report Company announcement: royalty forecast change
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales: SVP Celia Eckert and VP John Desjarlais sold shares the same day (small percent reductions of their holdings). The cluster of insider sales has heightened investor concern about insider timing and added to negative sentiment. InsiderTrades: insider sale report

Xencor Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $818.47 million, a PE ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 6.25 and a quick ratio of 6.25.

Xencor (NASDAQ:XNCR) last released its 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. Xencor had a negative return on equity of 14.58% and a negative net margin of 73.20%.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 business posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 46.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Xencor, Inc. will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Xencor by 1.4% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,675,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $125,218,000 after purchasing an additional 147,700 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,165,450 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $109,703,000 after purchasing an additional 61,692 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Xencor by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 7,133,720 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $109,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,393,579 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Xencor by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,777,461 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $103,763,000 after buying an additional 556,407 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Xencor by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,507,254 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,006,000 after buying an additional 833,423 shares during the last quarter.

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.