Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ (XENE) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $55.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Bloom Burton upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.70.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of XENE opened at $38.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.79 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.40 and its 200-day moving average is $35.45. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $26.74 and a 12 month high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.81) earnings per share. Xenon Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,088.32. This trade represents a 44.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,584,859 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $153,822,000 after buying an additional 64,264 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,789,197 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $127,128,000 after buying an additional 11,586 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP grew its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,605,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,837,000 after acquiring an additional 895,154 shares during the period. Commodore Capital LP raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the second quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 3,025,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $94,682,000 after acquiring an additional 700,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 53.8% during the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 2,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,600,000 after acquiring an additional 700,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN1101, a novel and potent Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.