Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of XENE stock opened at $40.13 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $50.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.23 and a beta of 1.20.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $200,922.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,378.84. This trade represents a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 238,522 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,350,000 after acquiring an additional 26,235 shares during the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,818 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,275.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 13,903 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.