Short Interest in XOMA Co. (NASDAQ:XOMA) Drops By 23.5%

XOMA Co. (NASDAQ:XOMA) saw a large decline in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 22,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.8 days.

XOMA Stock Performance

NASDAQ XOMA opened at $30.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 7.52 and a quick ratio of 7.52. XOMA has a 1-year low of $14.33 and a 1-year high of $33.78. The company has a market cap of $355.96 million, a P/E ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 0.90.

XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.02). XOMA had a negative net margin of 151.34% and a negative return on equity of 24.95%. The company had revenue of $11.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.37 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that XOMA will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of XOMA from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of XOMA in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Owen Hughes sold 21,881 shares of the business’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 transaction of $655,335.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,979 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,621.05. The trade was a 38.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XOMA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of XOMA in the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of XOMA by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 62,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in XOMA by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in XOMA in the third quarter valued at $516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.92% of the company’s stock.

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.