Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Stock Price Down 6.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) were down 6.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $31.00 and last traded at $31.24. Approximately 703,733 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 56% from the average daily volume of 451,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on XENE. StockNews.com upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. 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 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.70.

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

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,258,340.40. This represents a 41.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,456,000 after acquiring an additional 905,129 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,275.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 13,903 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,132,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 238,522 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,350,000 after purchasing an additional 26,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 279,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,004,000 after purchasing an additional 32,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.