XP (NASDAQ:XP) Shares Climb 3.7% – Here’s What Happened

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP) shares were up 3.7% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $30.50 and last traded at $30.6220. 1,059,596 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,473,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on XP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of XP from $26.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Itau BBA Securities upgraded XP from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings raised XP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on XP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of XP in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.80.

XP Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 4.80 and a quick ratio of 4.80. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.11.

XP (NASDAQ:XP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $943.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $935.15 million. XP had a net margin of 27.20% and a return on equity of 22.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that XP Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at XP

In other news, Director Bruno Constantino Alexandre dos Santos sold 123,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total value of $2,413,372.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,370,000. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in XP by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 20,699,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,112,000 after acquiring an additional 799,048 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in XP by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,799,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160,977 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of XP by 33.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,147,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,393 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of XP by 146.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,930,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of XP by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,626,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,968,000 after purchasing an additional 37,929 shares during the period. 59.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About XP

XP Inc is a Brazil-based financial services platform that provides investment, banking and related financial products to individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Through its digital platforms and network of financial professionals, the company offers access to investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, real estate funds, retirement products and insurance.

The company operates a portfolio of brands that includes XP, Rico and Clear, serving customers with different investment needs and levels of experience.