Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires New Shares in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. $XENE

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky opened a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals, buying 21,133 shares valued at about $1.23 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 95.45%, with several other funds also building large stakes in the biopharma company over recent quarters.
• Xenon shares were trading at $67.71, near their 52-week high, while analysts currently hold a Buy consensus with an average price target of $77.20.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,229,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $56,637,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 66.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,609,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $144,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,096 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,968.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 862,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,650,000 after buying an additional 820,608 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 2,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $62,600,000 after buying an additional 700,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commodore Capital LP raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 3,025,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $94,682,000 after buying an additional 700,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XENE opened at $67.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of -14.41 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.60. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.00 and a fifty-two week high of $72.66.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.83) EPS. Research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Patou sold 1,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $70,251.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,322,973.44. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gillian Cannon sold 1,190 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total value of $63,236.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,455 shares in the company, valued at $77,318.70. The trade was a 44.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XENE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.20.

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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