Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE)

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reiterated an "overweight" rating for Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) with a target price of $48.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.14% from its current price.
• Despite Wells Fargo's positive outlook, Wall Street Zen has downgraded XENE from "hold" to "sell," while other firms such as Royal Bank of Canada and Needham & Company LLC maintain higher price targets.
• Xenon Pharmaceuticals is currently trading at $39.30, with a 12-month high of $46.00, and analysts predict it will post an EPS of -3.1 for the current fiscal year.

Equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 24.74% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on XENE. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.30.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XENE traded down $0.73 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.48. 356,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,260. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.85 and a beta of 1.17. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $26.74 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.52 and its 200 day moving average is $33.89.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.75) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 65,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,579,000 after buying an additional 22,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 92,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,620,000 after buying an additional 25,967 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 439.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,426,000 after acquiring an additional 204,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

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.