Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Lexicon reached a new 52-week high of $1.84 on Friday (last at $1.76) on ~3.95M shares traded, valuing the company at about $746 million and marking a one-day gain of roughly 5.4%.
• Analyst views are mixed—two Buy ratings and one Sell produce a MarketBeat consensus of Hold with an average target of $4.15 (notable targets: HC Wainwright $6.00, Citigroup $2.30).
• Insiders have been buying: Invus Global bought 1.538M shares at $1.30 and a director bought 100K shares; insiders purchased ~1.79M shares in the past 90 days and own ~14% while institutions own ~74.7%.

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.84 and last traded at $1.76, with a volume of 3947808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LXRX shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $2.10 to $2.30 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.15.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 4.88 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The stock has a market cap of $745.68 million, a PE ratio of -12.57 and a beta of 0.94.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a negative net margin of 101.08%.The company had revenue of $5.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 million. Analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Invus Global Management, Llc acquired 1,538,462 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.30 per share, with a total value of $2,000,000.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,538,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.60. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond Debbane acquired 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.47 per share, with a total value of $147,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,904,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,799,153.42. This trade represents a 5.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 1,790,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,369,981 in the last ninety days. 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 136,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 29,319 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 610.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 52,045 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 431.4% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 66,276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 53,805 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.70% of the company's stock.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel medicines through its proprietary genome biology platform. By leveraging large-scale gene knockout libraries, the company identifies potential therapeutic targets and advances them through preclinical and clinical development. Lexicon's approach emphasizes the translation of genetic insights into targeted therapies for a range of human diseases.

The company's most advanced product is telotristat ethyl (sold under the brand name XERMELO), an oral treatment approved for the management of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in patients inadequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.

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