Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has an average “Hold” rating from five analysts: three buys, one hold, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $5.70, with Cantor Fitzgerald setting a higher $8.00 target.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.06 per share, slightly below the $0.05 expected loss, while revenue of $0.69 million fell well short of the $3.99 million consensus estimate.
• Lexicon shares opened at $1.79, compared with a 52-week range of $1.10 to $2.68. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 74.7% of the stock.

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.70.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LXRX. Zacks Research cut Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $1.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $798.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.97 and a beta of 1.02. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.05.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Siren L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 44,303,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $69,113,000 after purchasing an additional 5,384,615 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 508.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,600,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 1,337,246 shares in the last quarter. Ishara Investments LP purchased a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,012,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $1,170,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $1,365,000. 74.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops medicines for human disease. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, the company uses its drug-discovery platform and expertise in biology to identify potential treatments for conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Lexicon's marketed products include XERMELO (telotristat ethyl), an oral medicine used to treat carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in adults whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.

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