Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 12,394 Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 12,394 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of XENE. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $33.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.70. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.70 and a 52-week high of $46.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.38.

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.