Shares of Xencor Inc. jumped nearly 20% on Monday to their highest level in a year. The biotechnology company presented early clinical data showing its experimental kidney cancer drug shrank tumors in nearly half of the patients treated at the dose it plans to take into late-stage trials.

Xencor shares rose $4.94, or 19.62%, to $30.12 in morning trading on the Nasdaq, after touching a 52-week high of $32.29. More than 4.1 million shares had changed hands, about three times the stock's three-month daily average. The company's market value rose to about $2.25 billion.

The stock is up about 76% over the past 52 weeks.

The data cover XmAb819, a bispecific antibody that targets the protein ENPP3 on tumor cells and CD3 on immune T cells. The drug is designed to steer the body's immune cells to attack cancer.

Xencor first presented updated Phase 1 results on Sunday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Madrid. It discussed them further on an investor webcast........

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