Capital World Investors Reduces Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Capital World Investors lowered its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,294,537 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 387,000 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 3.01% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals worth $89,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of XENE. FMR LLC boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,525,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $294,991,000 after acquiring an additional 607,606 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,443,180 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,573,000 after purchasing an additional 18,445 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,356,895 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,190,000 after purchasing an additional 380,112 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,161,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,520,000 after purchasing an additional 17,216 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 848,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,275,000 after purchasing an additional 70,557 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XENE. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.78.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.58 on Friday, reaching $37.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 436,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,227. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.74 and a 52 week high of $46.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.34 and a beta of 1.21.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. As a group, research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.