Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on XENE. Evercore ISI began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

XENE opened at $30.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -10.81 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.73 and a 200-day moving average of $37.66. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $26.74 and a 52-week high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.62) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 442,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,854,000 after acquiring an additional 32,486 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 183,808 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,281 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 367,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,321,000 after acquiring an additional 78,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,914,749 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $64,240,000 after acquiring an additional 51,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.