Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $36.45, but opened at $35.54. Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $35.66, with a volume of 16,629 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on XENE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.79. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.33 and a beta of 1.26.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. On average, analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $903,213.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,258,340.40. The trade was a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XENE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 11,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 69,529 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 73,762 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN1101, a novel and potent Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.