Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $1.63, but opened at $1.54. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $1.5950, with a volume of 866,813 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LXRX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.63.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $612.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 5.63, a current ratio of 5.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.35 and a 200-day moving average of $1.32.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 96.77% and a negative return on equity of 52.90%. The business had revenue of $5.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Raymond Debbane acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.47 per share, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,904,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,799,153.42. The trade was a 5.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Invus Global Management, Llc bought 1,538,462 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.30 per share, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,538,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.60. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 1,790,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,369,981 in the last 90 days. 13.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXRX. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 80.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,804 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 25,707 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 559,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 155,086 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.