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

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

XOMA Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:XOMA opened at $30.21 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.90. The stock has a market cap of $355.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 7.52, a quick ratio of 7.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. XOMA has a 12 month low of $14.33 and a 12 month high of $33.78.

Insider Activity at XOMA

In related news, CEO Owen Hughes sold 21,881 shares of XOMA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.95, for a total value of $655,335.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,621.05. The trade was a 38.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of XOMA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of XOMA by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,741 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in XOMA by 300.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,256 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,447 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in XOMA by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 142,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,783,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of XOMA by 95.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,632 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of XOMA in the 3rd quarter worth about $516,000. 95.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on XOMA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of XOMA from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of XOMA in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

About XOMA

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.