Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Coverage Initiated at Wells Fargo & Company

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 researchers at Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.84% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on XENE. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.30.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XENE traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.72. The stock had a trading volume of 75,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,374. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.18 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.93. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $26.74 and a one year high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.75) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% in 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. lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 92,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 25,967 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 439.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,426,000 after purchasing an additional 204,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.