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

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $36.02 and last traded at $35.9350, with a volume of 842359 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XENE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.65.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) EPS 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) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven Gannon sold 10,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 1,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,792.20. This trade represents a 84.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Kenney sold 7,068 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120.50. The trade was a 99.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 2.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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