D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,973 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 117,919 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals worth $3,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XENE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 238,522 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,350,000 after purchasing an additional 26,235 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,293 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 5,577 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XENE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.75. The stock had a trading volume of 944,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,682. The business's 50 day moving average price is $33.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.51. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.55 and a beta of 1.21. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.74 and a 1 year high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. Analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN1101, a novel and potent Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.