Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN496, A Kv7 potassium channel opener that is Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of KCNQ2 developmental and epilepsy encephalopathy; and XEN1101, A Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The company's product candidates also comprise NBI-921352, a selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, and other potential indications, including adult focal epilepsy; and XEN007, A central nervous system-acting calcium channel modulator, which is in Phase II clinical trials. It has a license and collaboration agreement with the Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. to develop treatments for epilepsy; and with Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. to develop PCRX301 (XEN402, a Nav1.7 inhibitor) for the treatment of post-operative pain. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.
Analyst Ratings Changes
XENE has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink upped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.83.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
Shares of XENE traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.50. 3,902 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 469,002. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.32. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $14.65 and a twelve month high of $41.39.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $0.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 million. Xenon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 17.33% and a negative net margin of 432.24%. Xenon Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 75.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.51) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Simon N. Pimstone sold 91,135 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total transaction of $3,488,647.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 92,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,760. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Simon N. Pimstone sold 91,135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $3,488,647.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 92,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,521,760. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James R. Empfield sold 57,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.31, for a total transaction of $2,212,134.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $383,100. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 182,820 shares of company stock valued at $6,982,432. Company insiders own 6.06% of the company's stock.