Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $62.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 50.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on XENE. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.44.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.9 %

XENE opened at $41.30 on Friday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $27.99 and a twelve month high of $50.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.18 and a beta of 1.15.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.12. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.57) EPS. Xenon Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sherrington Robin sold 7,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $330,300.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,659.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Sherrington Robin sold 7,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $330,300.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,659.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $601,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,560. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 22,020 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 39,347 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 10,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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 epileptic encephalopathy; and XEN1101, a Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.