Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Trading 8.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX)’s share price shot up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.6750 and last traded at $1.6960. 700,547 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,868,474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LXRX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $2.10 to $2.30 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.15.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 6.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.39. The company has a market cap of $705.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.88, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 101.08% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Invus Global Management, Llc acquired 1,538,462 shares of the company’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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,538,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.60. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond Debbane acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.47 per share, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,904,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,799,153.42. This represents a 5.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 1,790,462 shares of company stock worth $2,369,981 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXRX. R Squared Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 46,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 14,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 25,707 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 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.