Affinity Asset Advisors LLC Buys 425,000 Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. $XENE

Affinity Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 34.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,675,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 425,000 shares during the quarter. Xenon Pharmaceuticals comprises 5.0% of Affinity Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $97,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the first 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 during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $532,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $711,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,518,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,530,000 after acquiring an additional 189,141 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Patou sold 1,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $70,251.08. Following the sale, the director owned 24,896 shares in the company, valued at $1,322,973.44. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gillian Cannon sold 1,190 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total value of $63,236.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,318.70. This represents a 44.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.91% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

XENE opened at $65.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.92 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.62. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.00 and a 52 week high of $72.66.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.83) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.