Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on XENE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XENE opened at $34.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.12. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $34.38 and a 12 month high of $72.66.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.07) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -4.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Steven Gannon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.06, for a total value of $640,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,870 shares in the company, valued at $119,792.20. The trade was a 84.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer acquired 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $37.38 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,866,121.74. The trade was a 150.58% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 830 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $57,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $65,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.