Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. $XENE

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc boosted its Q4 stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 29.6% to 750,291 shares (0.97% of the company), valued at about $33.63 million.
• Insider selling was significant: CEO Ian Mortimer sold 270,000 shares on March 9 for roughly $16.29 million, and insiders have sold 296,707 shares totaling $17.85 million in the past 90 days (insiders now own 4.07%).
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with 2 Strong Buy, 16 Buy and 1 Sell ratings, giving Xenon an average analyst target price of $71.88.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 750,291 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 171,146 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.97% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals worth $33,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XENE. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2,560.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,342,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,399,033 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,171,000 after purchasing an additional 142,452 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $325,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 270,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.33, for a total value of $16,289,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,980. This represents a 97.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrea Difabio sold 2,607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.11, for a total value of $156,706.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,893 shares in the company, valued at $294,118.23. The trade was a 34.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 296,707 shares of company stock worth $17,845,365 in the last ninety days. 4.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on XENE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $71.88.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of XENE opened at $56.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 0.74. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.74 and a 1-year high of $63.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.99 and a 200 day moving average of $43.78.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.20) by ($0.11). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.84) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel, small‐molecule drugs targeting ion channels in the central and peripheral nervous system. The company's research focus centers on neurological and pain disorders—including epilepsy, migraine, and neuropathic pain—by modulating key ion‐channel proteins to restore normal neuronal function. Xenon's scientific platform draws upon advances in ion‐channel biology and structure‐based drug design to identify and optimize therapeutic candidates with the potential for improved safety and efficacy profiles compared with existing treatments.

The company's pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical programs.

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