Insider Selling: Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) CEO Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Xenon Pharmaceuticals' CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares at an average price of $40.16, totaling over $1 million, resulting in a 44.40% decrease in his ownership.
• The company's stock price experienced a drop during trading, reaching $39.12, with a 52-week high of $46.00 and a low of $26.74.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating for Xenon Pharmaceuticals, with target prices ranging from $43.00 to $55.00, reflecting optimism about the company's future performance.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,088.32. This trade represents a 44.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of XENE traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,230,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,767. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.74 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $36.37 and its 200 day moving average is $34.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.02 and a beta of 1.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.75) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XENE. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,637,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,294.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,343 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,369,000 after purchasing an additional 900,746 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,605,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $112,837,000 after acquiring an additional 895,154 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 53.8% during the second 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 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the second quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 3,025,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $94,682,000 after buying an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on XENE. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Eleven equities 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 a consensus target price of $53.30.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company 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.

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