Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Shares Down 8.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) were down 8.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $1.5710 and last traded at $1.5650. Approximately 677,704 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 2,592,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LXRX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.23.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 5.64 and a quick ratio of 5.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $546.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.31 and its 200-day moving average is $1.28.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 96.77% and a negative return on equity of 52.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXRX. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 400.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 77.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 65,330 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 28,594 shares in the last quarter. 74.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.