Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on XENE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $34.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -12.15 and a beta of 1.26. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $33.27 and a 52 week high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.05. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $903,213.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,258,340.40. This represents a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,525,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $294,991,000 after buying an additional 607,606 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,843,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,317,000 after acquiring an additional 15,226 shares during the period. Braidwell LP raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 2,913,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $114,227,000 after purchasing an additional 206,709 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,866,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $112,425,000 after purchasing an additional 314,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,697,657 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $105,748,000 after purchasing an additional 253,012 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN1101, a novel and potent Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.