Xenon Pharmaceuticals' (XENE) Outperform Rating Reiterated at William Blair

Key Points

• Xenon Pharmaceuticals' stock received an "outperform" rating reaffirmed by William Blair, indicating continued analyst confidence in the company's performance.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a loss of ($1.07) per share, which was below analysts' expectations of ($1.03), reflecting ongoing challenges in financial performance.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Ian Mortimer selling 25,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 44.40%, which could signal a shift in confidence about the company's prospects.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at William Blair in a research note issued on Tuesday,RTT News reports.

XENE has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.30.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7%

XENE stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.86. 57,836 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 862,028. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $26.74 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $36.90 and its 200 day moving average is $34.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.96 and a beta of 1.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 31,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,088.32. This represents a 44.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XENE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 541.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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