HC Wainwright Has Bearish Forecast for XENE FY2027 Earnings

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) – Equities research analysts at HC Wainwright cut their FY2027 EPS estimates for Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright analyst D. Tsao now forecasts that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings of ($6.05) per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of ($6.00). HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.10) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ FY2028 earnings at ($4.97) EPS, FY2029 earnings at ($3.06) EPS and FY2030 earnings at ($0.75) EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on XENE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $97.00 price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.94.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ XENE opened at $57.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.80. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $26.74 and a 12-month high of $63.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.28 and a beta of 0.91.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.20) by ($0.11). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.84) EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,001,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,399,033 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,171,000 after purchasing an additional 142,452 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,020,254 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,934,000 after purchasing an additional 262,109 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,280,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,206,066 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after buying an additional 53,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher John Kenney sold 2,771 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.11, for a total value of $166,564.81. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,260.19. This trade represents a 36.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrea Difabio sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.11, for a total transaction of $156,706.77. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,118.23. This represents a 34.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 326,647 shares of company stock worth $19,066,951. 4.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Xenon Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Closed upsized offering — Xenon completed an upsized public offering that raised roughly $747.5M (including full exercise of the underwriters’ option), providing substantial cash to fund Phase‑3 activities, NDA planning and early commercial buildout, and materially lowering near‑term financing risk. GlobeNewswire: Closing of Offering
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical derisking — Xenon’s lead candidate azetukalner posted a positive Phase‑3 efficacy readout in focal‑onset seizures and management plans an NDA filing in 2026, which increases the program’s near‑term commercial value and supports upside case assumptions. Zacks: Azetukalner Study
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support rising — Multiple brokerages raised price targets and maintained buy/overweight stances (examples: Deutsche Bank, HC Wainwright, Wells Fargo), which can attract momentum buyers and institutional interest. Deutsche Bank PT HC Wainwright Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Model updates — HC Wainwright adjusted multi‑year EPS forecasts (improving FY2028–FY2030 but nudging FY2027 worse), reflecting shifting timing/commercial assumptions; useful for modeling but still speculative. HC Wainwright EPS Revision
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CEO Ian Mortimer and several other insiders disclosed large open‑market sales (CEO sold ~270k shares; additional insiders sold smaller blocks), which reduces insider ownership and may concern some investors about timing/liquidity taking. SEC Filing: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Dilution risk — the large share issuance (and pre‑funded warrants / potential additional option shares) increases outstanding share count and can pressure near‑term per‑share metrics and valuation multiples despite the stronger cash position. GlobeNewswire: Closing of Offering

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.