Anyone interested in Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR) should probably be aware that the Co-Founder, Bassil Dahiyat, recently divested US$294k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$23.43 each. On the bright side, that sale was only 4.9% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

Xencor Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Bassil Dahiyat is the biggest insider sale of Xencor shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$24.25. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 4.9% of Bassil Dahiyat's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Xencor than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Xencor

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Xencor insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$12m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Xencor Insiders?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Xencor stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Xencor that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: Xencor may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.