Arizona State Retirement System Increases Position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 417.6% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 6,895 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 126,375 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 266,826 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 64.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,728,108 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,032,000 after purchasing an additional 677,057 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.1% in the third quarter. Walleye Trading LLC now owns 6,923 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XENE opened at $41.63 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $27.99 and a one year high of $50.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.31 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.80.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.12. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.57) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on XENE. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup started coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.44.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $601,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,560. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,560. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sherrington Robin sold 7,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $330,300.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,659.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.43% 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.