Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on XENE. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 24th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $903,213.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,258,340.40. This represents a 41.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 11,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 69,529 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after buying an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 73,762 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,904,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.