Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

XENE has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of XENE traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.62. 451,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,546. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its 200 day moving average is $40.70. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $50.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.05 and a beta of 1.20.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.73) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $770,997.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $200,922.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $968,378.84. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 207.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $327,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.