Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 126,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $101,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% in 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 acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $327,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $36.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.93 and a beta of 1.26. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.27 and a 1-year high of $46.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.85.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.05. Sell-side analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XENE has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total value of $660,757.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.