Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $1.7950, but opened at $1.88. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $1.9750, with a volume of 1,560,266 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.70.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $874.35 million, a PE ratio of -13.10 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 13.37 and a quick ratio of 13.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.24 and its 200-day moving average is $2.05.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.01). Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 147.38% and a negative return on equity of 37.53%. The company had revenue of $0.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.99 million. On average, research analysts predict that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Siren L.L.C. increased its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% in the first quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 44,303,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,113,000 after buying an additional 5,384,615 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 508.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,600,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 1,337,246 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,365,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $1,170,000. Finally, Ishara Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,012,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops medicines for human disease. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, the company uses its drug-discovery platform and expertise in biology to identify potential treatments for conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Lexicon’s marketed products include XERMELO (telotristat ethyl), an oral medicine used to treat carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in adults whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.