Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $35.00 and last traded at $35.13, with a volume of 285,565 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XENE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Wedbush cut their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.97. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of -7.15 and a beta of 0.60.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.07) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Ian Mortimer purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.38 per share, with a total value of $1,121,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 49,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,866,121.74. This trade represents a 150.58% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Kenney sold 7,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total transaction of $425,847.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120.50. This trade represents a 99.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $454,057,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,424,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $243,124,000 after purchasing an additional 24,444 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $252,673,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,175,982 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $242,858,000 after purchasing an additional 91,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,675,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $97,401,000 after purchasing an additional 425,000 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.