Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1 %

XENE stock opened at $33.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.70. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $32.70 and a 12 month high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.05. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,731. This represents a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 144.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,552,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $100,506,000 after buying an additional 1,507,135 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,456,000 after buying an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,525,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $294,991,000 after acquiring an additional 607,606 shares during the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $23,520,000. Finally, Stempoint Capital LP purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,733,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.