Benchmark Initiates Coverage on XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA)

Benchmark began coverage on shares of XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $35.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock.

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

XOMA Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of XOMA stock traded up $0.73 on Thursday, hitting $22.82. 7,661 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,594. XOMA has a twelve month low of $18.35 and a twelve month high of $35.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.77 million, a PE ratio of -6.54 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $21.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.96. 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 (NASDAQ:XOMA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $8.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.75 million. XOMA had a negative return on equity of 24.95% and a negative net margin of 151.34%. As a group, analysts anticipate that XOMA will post -1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at XOMA

In other XOMA news, major shareholder Bvf Partners L. P/Il sold 500,742 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total transaction of $13,069,366.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Limber acquired 5,243 shares of XOMA stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.60 per share, for a total transaction of $134,220.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,000. This represents a 110.22 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 29,312 shares of company stock worth $735,061. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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