Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Price Target to $70.00

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $81.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on XENE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.93.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XENE opened at $39.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of -8.39 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.05. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $35.97 and a 12 month high of $72.66.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.07) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 566.8% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 62,183 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,753,000 after purchasing an additional 52,857 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $6,813,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,382 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Xenon Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Xenon submitted an NDA for azetukalner in focal seizures, advancing the drug toward potential commercialization in an indication that analysts believe still supports the program’s core value. Xenon Announces Azetukalner NDA Submission to FDA for Focal Seizures
• Positive Sentiment: Despite lowering their estimates, RBC Capital Markets, Wedbush, Robert W. Baird and Needham retained positive ratings, indicating analysts continue to see meaningful value in the focal-seizure opportunity. Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ Azetukalner Retains Core Epilepsy Value
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets to ranges of $55 to $90, but maintained “outperform” or “buy” recommendations. The revisions reflect greater risk from the psychiatry program rather than a loss of confidence in the company’s epilepsy prospects.
• Negative Sentiment: Xenon voluntarily paused new enrollment in major depression and bipolar depression studies after reports of mental- and nervous-system-related adverse events. The company said the events were consistent with azetukalner’s known safety profile, but they had not been observed in the earlier Phase 2 X-NOVA depression trial, raising uncertainty about the drug’s broader psychiatric potential. Xenon Pauses Depression and Bipolar Trial Enrollment
• Negative Sentiment: The enrollment pause increases regulatory, timeline and commercial risks for a key expansion opportunity and triggered unusually heavy trading as investors reassessed azetukalner’s risk-benefit profile. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Falls After Depression Trial Enrollment Pause

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:XENE) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company uses its expertise in ion channels, which regulate the electrical activity of nerve cells, to discover and advance potential treatments for conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Xenon’s leading investigational product is azetukalner (XEN1101), an oral, small-molecule potassium-channel opener being studied in epilepsy, including focal-onset seizures, and major depressive disorder.