Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $35.00 and last traded at $35.13, with a volume of 285,565 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XENE has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.34 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.27.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.07) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Thomas Patrick Kelly bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $559,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $559,800. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 1,870 shares in the company, valued at $119,792.20. This trade represents a 84.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $454,057,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $252,673,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 137.0% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 1,059,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,637,000 after purchasing an additional 612,771 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 62.2% in the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,318,564 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,674,000 after buying an additional 505,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Octagon Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $28,494,000. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.