XOMA Co. (NASDAQ:XOMA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

XOMA Co. (NASDAQ:XOMA - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 173,300 shares, a decline of 23.5% from the October 15th total of 226,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 22,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.8 days.

Insider Transactions at XOMA

In related news, CEO Owen Hughes sold 21,881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.95, for a total value of $655,335.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,979 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,621.05. This represents a 38.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of XOMA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of XOMA by 55.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in XOMA during the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in XOMA by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 62,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of XOMA by 16.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,695 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of XOMA in the third quarter valued at approximately $516,000. 95.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

XOMA Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of XOMA stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.21. 53,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,791. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 7.52 and a current ratio of 7.52. XOMA has a fifty-two week low of $14.33 and a fifty-two week high of $33.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.89. The firm has a market cap of $355.96 million, a P/E ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 0.90.

XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.02). XOMA had a negative return on equity of 24.95% and a negative net margin of 151.34%. The company had revenue of $11.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.37 million. Equities analysts anticipate that XOMA will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on XOMA shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of XOMA in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded XOMA from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.