DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 12,620 Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,620 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.27% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals worth $7,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XENE. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 73,762 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 126,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6 %

Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $34.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.15 and a beta of 1.26. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.27 and a 12-month high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.05. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $903,213.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,258,340.40. This represents a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

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.