Exagen Inc. (NASDAQ:XGN) Short Interest Up 21.0% in February

Exagen Inc. (NASDAQ:XGN) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,071,934 shares, a growth of 21.0% from the February 12th total of 885,707 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 265,492 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 265,492 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exagen news, CEO John Aballi sold 15,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.62, for a total value of $56,826.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,299 shares in the company, valued at $2,488,022.38. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exagen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Exagen during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,017,000. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in Exagen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,420,000. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC grew its position in Exagen by 784.3% in the 4th quarter. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC now owns 353,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 313,727 shares in the last quarter. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P purchased a new stake in Exagen during the fourth quarter worth about $1,520,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exagen during the third quarter worth about $2,716,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Exagen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exagen in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Exagen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Exagen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Exagen from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exagen presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.57.

Exagen Stock Performance

Shares of XGN stock opened at $3.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 3.45. The firm has a market cap of $76.00 million, a P/E ratio of -3.43 and a beta of 1.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.34. Exagen has a one year low of $2.91 and a one year high of $12.23.

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $16.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.46 million. Exagen had a negative net margin of 29.97% and a negative return on equity of 105.03%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Exagen will post -0.88 EPS for the current year.

Exagen Company Profile

Exagen Inc is a molecular diagnostics company focused on improving the detection and management of autoimmune diseases. Headquartered in the United States, the company develops, manufactures and markets laboratory tests designed to help clinicians address diagnostic challenges associated with complex connective tissue disorders.

The company’s flagship product portfolio, marketed under the Avise® brand, includes multi-analyte assays such as the Avise® Connective Tissue Disease (CTD) panel, Avise® Lupus panel and Avise® Sjögren’s panel.