Exagen Inc. (NASDAQ:XGN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Exagen Inc. (NASDAQ:XGN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 729,740 shares, a decrease of 52.5% from the March 31st total of 1,534,970 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 193,705 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exagen

In related news, CEO John Aballi sold 15,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.62, for a total value of $56,826.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,488,022.38. This trade represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exagen

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exagen by 10.3% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 27,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exagen by 3.5% in the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 78,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Exagen by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Exagen by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Finally, Huntleigh Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Exagen by 6.3% in the third quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 93,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.25% of the company’s stock.

Exagen Stock Performance

XGN opened at $2.70 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.94 million, a PE ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.45. Exagen has a 12-month low of $2.59 and a 12-month high of $12.23.

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $16.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.46 million. Exagen had a negative net margin of 29.97% and a negative return on equity of 105.03%. As a group, research analysts expect that Exagen will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on XGN shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Exagen from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Exagen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group set a $10.00 price target on shares of Exagen in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Exagen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their price target on shares of Exagen from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.38.

Exagen Company Profile

Exagen Inc is a molecular diagnostics company focused on improving the detection and management of autoimmune diseases. Headquartered in the United States, the company develops, manufactures and markets laboratory tests designed to help clinicians address diagnostic challenges associated with complex connective tissue disorders.

The company’s flagship product portfolio, marketed under the Avise® brand, includes multi-analyte assays such as the Avise® Connective Tissue Disease (CTD) panel, Avise® Lupus panel and Avise® Sjögren’s panel.