Wall Street Zen Upgrades Lexeo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LXEO) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lexeo Therapeutics from “strong sell” to “sell,” while broader analyst sentiment remains “Buy” with a consensus price target of $18.75.
• Lexeo shares opened at $4.20, near their 12-month low of $3.99, and the company reported quarterly EPS of negative $0.30, slightly missing estimates.
• Insiders sold 66,326 shares worth approximately $299,817 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 60.67% of the clinical-stage gene therapy company.

Lexeo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LXEO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

LXEO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Lexeo Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Chardan Capital raised Lexeo Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lexeo Therapeutics from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.75.

Lexeo Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LXEO opened at $4.20 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $4.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.24. The company has a market cap of $344.61 million, a P/E ratio of -3.65 and a beta of 1.50. Lexeo Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $3.99 and a twelve month high of $10.99.

Lexeo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LXEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.01). Analysts predict that Lexeo Therapeutics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Narinder Pal Bhalla sold 22,306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.42, for a total value of $98,592.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 82,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $363,297.48. This represents a 21.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Richard Townsend sold 25,947 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.48, for a total value of $116,242.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 377,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,692,620.16. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,326 shares of company stock worth $299,817. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lexeo Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lexeo Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,932,175. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Lexeo Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $1,237,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lexeo Therapeutics by 27.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,103,584 shares of the company's stock worth $6,332,000 after buying an additional 240,692 shares in the last quarter. Spruce Street Capital LP lifted its holdings in Lexeo Therapeutics by 430.6% during the first quarter. Spruce Street Capital LP now owns 928,593 shares of the company's stock worth $5,330,000 after buying an additional 753,593 shares during the period. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lexeo Therapeutics by 69.5% during the first quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 3,602,450 shares of the company's stock worth $20,678,000 after buying an additional 1,477,450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.67% of the company's stock.

About Lexeo Therapeutics

Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for genetic and acquired diseases. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) delivery technology to introduce genetic material intended to address underlying disease mechanisms, with programs spanning central nervous system and cardiovascular conditions.

Lexeo's development portfolio includes investigational therapies for APOE4-associated Alzheimer's disease, Friedreich's ataxia, and inherited cardiac disorders such as LMNA-related dilated cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

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