XOMA Co. (NASDAQ:XOMA) Short Interest Up 23.4% in December

XOMA Co. (NASDAQ:XOMA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 139,000 shares, a growth of 23.4% from the November 30th total of 112,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on XOMA shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of XOMA in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded XOMA from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at XOMA

In other news, CEO Owen Hughes sold 21,881 shares of XOMA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.95, for a total transaction of $655,335.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,621.05. This trade represents a 38.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XOMA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of XOMA by 95.0% in 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. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in XOMA by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,695 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in XOMA by 300.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,256 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 8,447 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in XOMA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. 95.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

XOMA Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ XOMA opened at $26.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $307.42 million, a PE ratio of -7.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 7.52 and a current ratio of 7.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.87. XOMA has a 52-week low of $18.57 and a 52-week high of $35.00.

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.