Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of XENE stock opened at $35.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -7.55 and a beta of 0.60. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $35.06 and a 1 year high of $72.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.27.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.07) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -4.70 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Christopher Kenney sold 7,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total transaction of $425,847.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120.50. This trade represents a 99.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Steven Gannon sold 10,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.06, for a total transaction of $640,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,792.20. This represents a 84.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $454,057,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,424,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $243,124,000 after purchasing an additional 24,444 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $252,673,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,175,982 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $242,858,000 after purchasing an additional 91,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 34.0% in the first quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,675,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $97,401,000 after purchasing an additional 425,000 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company uses research in ion channels and neuronal signaling to identify potential treatments for conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Xenon’s lead investigational medicine is azetukalner, also known as XEN1101, a selective potassium channel opener being evaluated for epilepsy and major depressive disorder. The company is also advancing additional programs aimed at genetically defined epilepsies and other disorders of the central nervous system.