The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Stock Price

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) had its price target cut by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $60.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 48.00% from the stock’s previous close.

XENE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.78.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of XENE opened at $35.14 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.46 and a beta of 1.21. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $26.74 and a 52 week high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $903,213.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,258,340.40. The trade was a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XENE. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.