Guggenheim Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE)

Key Points

• Guggenheim reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Xenon Pharmaceuticals and set a $73 price target, implying approximately 94% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $69.13, despite several analysts recently lowering their targets.
• Xenon shares opened at $37.57, near their 52-week low, while CEO Ian Mortimer purchased 30,000 shares for about $1.12 million. The company’s lead drug candidate, azetukalner, is being developed for epilepsy and major depressive disorder.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $73.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Guggenheim's price objective suggests a potential upside of 94.30% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.13.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of XENE opened at $37.57 on Tuesday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $36.07 and a 52-week high of $72.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -7.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $55.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.92.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.07) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Christopher Kenney sold 7,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total transaction of $425,847.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120.50. This represents a 99.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer acquired 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,866,121.74. The trade was a 150.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% in the 2nd 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 lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,753,000 after purchasing an additional 52,857 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,813,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,382 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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