Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. $XENE Shares Purchased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 168.4%, acquiring a total of 82,048 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares for $1 million, representing a 44.4% decrease in his equity position in the company.
• Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ stock has seen recent target price upgrades from various brokerages, with prices ranging from $43.00 to $55.00, indicating a moderate buy consensus among analysts.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) by 168.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,475 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned approximately 0.11% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals worth $2,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $25,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 436,974 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,677,000 after buying an additional 195,768 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 442,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,854,000 after purchasing an additional 32,486 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 183,808 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,281 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,088.32. This trade represents a 44.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on XENE. Wedbush raised their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.30.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:XENE opened at $39.61 on Friday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.74 and a 1-year high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.16 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.07.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.75) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current 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.

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