Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from “sell” to “strong sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $5.70 target price.
• Lexicon shares opened at $1.42, down 4.1%, and remain near their 52-week low; the company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, including revenue of $0.69 million versus a $3.99 million estimate.
• Institutional investors own 74.70% of the company, with several funds recently increasing their positions despite Lexicon’s negative net margin and projected full-year loss.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research cut Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.70.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.1%

NASDAQ:LXRX opened at $1.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 13.37 and a quick ratio of 13.29. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $1.10 and a 1-year high of $2.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.88.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $0.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.99 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 37.53% and a negative net margin of 147.38%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 600.8% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 340,479 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 291,893 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $66,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 43,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP raised its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 126.9% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 45,727 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 25,577 shares during the last quarter. 74.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for serious and chronic diseases. The company uses its drug discovery platform to identify small-molecule treatments designed to target specific biological pathways, with an emphasis on metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological conditions.

Lexicon's commercial products include INPEFA (sotagliflozin), an oral medicine approved in the United States to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure and urgent heart-failure visits in certain adults with heart failure or type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

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