BIT Capital GmbH Cuts Position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Key Points

• BIT Capital GmbH reduced its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 67.8%, selling 36,576 shares during the 1st quarter, leaving it with 17,352 shares worth approximately $582,000.
• Xenon Pharmaceuticals received varied analyst ratings, with price targets ranging from $47 to $60, and a consensus price target of $54.82 indicating a "Moderate Buy" outlook.
• In its latest earnings report, the company beat expectations with revenue of $7.50 million and reported an EPS of ($0.83), beating estimates by $0.07.

BIT Capital GmbH lowered its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) by 67.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 36,576 shares during the quarter. BIT Capital GmbH's holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in XENE. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $797,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 177.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 39,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 24,956 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,356,895 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,190,000 after purchasing an additional 380,112 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,443,180 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $56,573,000 after purchasing an additional 18,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 575,590 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,563,000 after purchasing an additional 9,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on XENE shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research 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 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.1%

NASDAQ:XENE traded down $0.71 on Thursday, hitting $33.56. The stock had a trading volume of 171,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,412. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.74 and a 1-year high of $46.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.38 and a beta of 1.16.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.