Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80 to $82 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 46.7% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive overall, with a Buy consensus and an average target price of $74.50, though Weiss Ratings still has a sell rating on the stock.
• Xenon recently reported Q1 EPS of -$1.17, matching expectations, while insiders have been significant sellers and institutional investors still own 95.45% of the company.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 46.72% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $74.50.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

XENE stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.89. The stock had a trading volume of 554,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,935. The company's 50 day moving average price is $54.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.62. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $28.19 and a 1-year high of $63.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.81 and a beta of 0.65.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17). During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.83) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrea Difabio sold 2,607 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.11, for a total transaction of $156,706.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $294,118.23. The trade was a 34.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 270,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.33, for a total value of $16,289,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,980. The trade was a 97.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 296,707 shares of company stock valued at $17,845,365 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XENE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 442,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,854,000 after purchasing an additional 32,486 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $532,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $711,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,518,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $47,530,000 after acquiring an additional 189,141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel, small‐molecule drugs targeting ion channels in the central and peripheral nervous system. The company's research focus centers on neurological and pain disorders—including epilepsy, migraine, and neuropathic pain—by modulating key ion‐channel proteins to restore normal neuronal function. Xenon's scientific platform draws upon advances in ion‐channel biology and structure‐based drug design to identify and optimize therapeutic candidates with the potential for improved safety and efficacy profiles compared with existing treatments.

The company's pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical programs.

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