XOMA Stock Receives Upgrade from StockNews.com

XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA) received an upgrade from StockNews.com, changing its rating from "sell" to "hold" as indicated in a recent report published on Friday.

In addition to this upgrade, another financial firm, HC Wainwright, confirmed its "buy" rating for XOMA and set a price target of $104.00 for the stock in a separate report released on Wednesday.

XOMA Stock Overview

On Friday, XOMA shares traded down $0.18, finishing at $20.88. During the day, 81,363 shares were exchanged, which is significantly higher than the average daily volume of 26,540 shares. Over the past year, XOMA has experienced a low of $19.92 and a high of $35.00. With a market capitalization of $250.12 million, the company has a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of -6.00 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average stands at $24.37, while the 200-day moving average is $27.14. The company’s current ratio and quick ratio both sit at 7.52, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

XOMA's most recent quarterly earnings report was issued on March 17th. The biotechnology firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.46), falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.17. The company’s return on equity was negative at 24.95%, and it reported a negative net margin of 151.34%. In terms of revenue, XOMA generated $8.70 million, slightly below analysts' expectations of $8.75 million. Looking ahead, analysts project that XOMA will report an EPS of -$1.41 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions

In related developments, significant insider activity was noted when major shareholder Bvf Partners L. P/Il sold 500,742 shares of XOMA on January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, resulting in a total transaction value of approximately $13,069,366.20. This transaction has been officially disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Currently, company insiders own around 7.20% of the stock.

Institutional Investment Changes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions in XOMA. For instance, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake by 0.6%, now holding 182,741 shares valued at $4,840,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its investment in XOMA by 300.7%, leading to ownership of 11,256 shares worth $298,000 following the acquisition of 8,447 shares. Similarly, BNP Paribas Financial Markets enhanced its stake by 95.0%, now holding 1,632 shares valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares. State Street Corp also increased its holdings by 1.2%, bringing its total to 142,857 shares worth $3,783,000 after purchasing an extra 1,754 shares. Finally, the New York State Common Retirement Fund expanded its position by 51.2%, now owning 2,362 shares valued at $62,000 after adding 800 shares. In total, institutional investors own approximately 95.92% of XOMA’s stock.

Company Profile

XOMA Corporation operates as a biotechnology royalty aggregator in the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company has a portfolio that includes rights to future potential milestone and royalty payments related to partnered therapeutic candidates in both commercial and pre-commercial stages. Additionally, XOMA focuses on clinical assets that are in the early to mid-stages, primarily Phase 1 and Phase 2, which are licensed to partners. It also seeks to acquire milestone and royalty revenue streams from late-stage clinical or commercial assets.

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