Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Price Target Cut to $55.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush cut Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ price target from $71 to $55 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 29.06% upside from the cited previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Xenon has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus target price of $71.67, despite target reductions from several firms.
• XENE opened at $42.62, well below its 52-week high of $72.66. The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.11 per share, beating the $1.16 consensus loss estimate, while insiders recently sold shares.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Wedbush from $71.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Wedbush's price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.06% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.67.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ XENE opened at $42.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of -9.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.70 and a 200 day moving average of $58.07. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $35.97 and a 1 year high of $72.66.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.07) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven Gannon sold 10,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.06, for a total value of $640,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,870 shares in the company, valued at $119,792.20. This trade represents a 84.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher Kenney sold 7,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $120.50. This represents a 99.97% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 2.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XENE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $454,057,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,424,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $243,124,000 after acquiring an additional 24,444 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $252,673,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,175,982 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $242,858,000 after purchasing an additional 91,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,414,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $153,058,000 after purchasing an additional 233,466 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Xenon Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Xenon submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for azetukalner as a treatment for focal seizures. The filing advances the drug toward a potential U.S. approval and commercial launch in epilepsy. Xenon Announces Azetukalner NDA Submission to FDA for Focal Seizures
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reduced its price target from $97 to $90 but maintained an “outperform” rating, implying substantial upside based on the current share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its target from $78 to $60 while retaining a “buy” rating. The smaller target reflects more cautious expectations but still indicates modest potential upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s update and an analyst transcript provide additional detail on the focal-seizure NDA and the broader psychiatry development strategy, with investors likely focused on regulatory timing and the safety review. Xenon Psychiatry Program Update Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Xenon paused enrollment in azetukalner trials for major depressive disorder and bipolar depression after reports of mental and nervous-system-related adverse events. The pause raises safety, timeline and commercial- opportunity concerns for the psychiatry program. Xenon Pauses Depression and Bipolar Trials

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ: XENE is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company uses its expertise in ion channels, which regulate the electrical activity of nerve cells, to discover and advance potential treatments for conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Xenon's leading investigational product is azetukalner (XEN1101), an oral, small-molecule potassium-channel opener being studied in epilepsy, including focal-onset seizures, and major depressive disorder.

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