Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $2.45, but opened at $1.96. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $2.3950, with a volume of 1,493,078 shares trading hands.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $0.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.99 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a negative net margin of 37.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LXRX shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $2.30 to $3.10 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Siren L.L.C. grew its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,521,874 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,855,000 after acquiring an additional 670,838 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,821,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,545,000 after acquiring an additional 991,073 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 752.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,007,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,500,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 102,099 shares during the last quarter. 74.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 18.77, a current ratio of 18.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.85. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -32.78 and a beta of 1.08.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel medicines through its proprietary genome biology platform. By leveraging large-scale gene knockout libraries, the company identifies potential therapeutic targets and advances them through preclinical and clinical development. Lexicon’s approach emphasizes the translation of genetic insights into targeted therapies for a range of human diseases.

The company’s most advanced product is telotristat ethyl (sold under the brand name XERMELO), an oral treatment approved for the management of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in patients inadequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.