Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX)

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 2,504 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 61% compared to the average daily volume of 1,558 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LXRX. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down from $2.00) on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.67.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LXRX opened at $0.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.00. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $0.28 and a twelve month high of $2.45. The company has a current ratio of 7.45, a quick ratio of 7.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $140.48 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 1.04.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $26.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 107.38% and a negative net margin of 4,109.41%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LXRX. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. RPO LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 62,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 16,136 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 24,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its orally-delivered small molecule drug candidates under development comprise Sotagliflozin that completed Phase III clinical trials for the for the treatment of heart failure and type 1 diabetes; and LX9211, which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of neuropathic pain and LX2761, which is in Phase I clinical development for gastrointestinal tract.