Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Stock Price

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $2.30 to $3.10 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 31.63% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LXRX. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.55.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 17.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LXRX traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $2.36. 6,243,491 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,707,405. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.51 and a 12 month high of $2.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.78 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 18.80 and a quick ratio of 18.77.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.04. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a negative net margin of 37.46%.The business had revenue of $21.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 million. Analysts anticipate that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lexicon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Raymond Debbane purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.47 per share, with a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,904,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,799,153.42. The trade was a 5.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders bought a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $369,980 over the last three months. 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXRX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,521,874 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,855,000 after purchasing an additional 670,838 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,821,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,545,000 after purchasing an additional 991,073 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 752.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,007,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654,315 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,500,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,876,000 after buying an additional 102,099 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel medicines through its proprietary genome biology platform. By leveraging large-scale gene knockout libraries, the company identifies potential therapeutic targets and advances them through preclinical and clinical development. Lexicon’s approach emphasizes the translation of genetic insights into targeted therapies for a range of human diseases.

The company’s most advanced product is telotristat ethyl (sold under the brand name XERMELO), an oral treatment approved for the management of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in patients inadequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.