T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 640,845 Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. $XENE

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 44.6%, selling 640,845 shares and now owning about 1.04% of the company, valued at approximately $26.7 million.
• Xenon Pharmaceuticals reported a loss of ($1.07) earnings per share in its latest quarterly results, missing analysts' expectations.
• The stock currently holds a consensus "Buy" rating from analysts, with an average target price of $53.20.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 796,986 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 640,845 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.04% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals worth $26,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 24,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 11,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 69,529 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $30,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on XENE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.20.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of XENE traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.62. 130,312 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,609. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of -10.88 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day moving average is $33.69 and its 200-day moving average is $33.96. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.74 and a 52 week high of $46.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.