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

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

XENE has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.38.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

XENE stock opened at $34.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -12.15 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.72 and its 200 day moving average is $39.73. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $33.27 and a 12 month high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,275.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 13,903 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,132,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 238,522 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,350,000 after purchasing an additional 26,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 279,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,004,000 after buying an additional 32,701 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.