Sphera Funds Management LTD. Acquires New Stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 52,097 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,042,000. Sphera Funds Management LTD. owned about 0.07% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $101,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on XENE shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

XENE traded down $1.00 on Wednesday, reaching $30.43. 259,011 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,386. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.74 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -10.79 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $33.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.79.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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.