Barclays PLC Grows Position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 1,275.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,903 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $327,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 68.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 10,007 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,843,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,317,000 after buying an additional 15,226 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 273,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,776,000 after buying an additional 64,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 279,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,004,000 after buying an additional 32,701 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $39.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.05 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.70. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $50.99.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.73) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XENE. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,378.84. This represents a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $770,997.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals 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.