Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) CEO Ian Mortimer Purchases 30,000 Shares of Stock

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) CEO Ian Mortimer acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.38 per share, for a total transaction of $1,121,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,866,121.74. The trade was a 150.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of XENE traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.03. 939,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,910. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.07 and a 52-week high of $72.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.27.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.07) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 566.8% during 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 last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $6,813,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.27.

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.