Bank of America Corp DE Buys New Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. $XENE

Key Points

• Bank of America purchased 404,067 Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $24.4 million in the second quarter, giving it a 0.42% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.45% of XENE.
• Analysts maintain a largely positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $70.93 target price, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• XENE shares opened at $36.56, down 6.5%, near their 12-month low of $35.97. Xenon reported a quarterly loss of $1.11 per share, slightly better than analysts’ expected $1.16 loss.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 404,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $24,389,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.42% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $454,057,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $252,673,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 137.0% in the first quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 1,059,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $61,637,000 after purchasing an additional 612,771 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 62.2% during the first quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,318,564 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,674,000 after purchasing an additional 505,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Octagon Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $28,494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.93.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 6.5%

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $36.56 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.97 and a 12 month high of $72.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -7.71 and a beta of 0.61.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.07) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven Gannon sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.06, for a total transaction of $640,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,792.20. This trade represents a 84.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher Kenney sold 7,068 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total value of $425,847.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120.50. This represents a 99.97% 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. 2.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals 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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