Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ (LXRX) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $6.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on LXRX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $2.10 to $2.30 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.15.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LXRX opened at $1.64 on Monday. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.32 and a 12 month high of $1.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 4.87, a current ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $694.84 million, a P/E ratio of -11.71 and a beta of 0.94.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 101.08% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. The firm had revenue of $5.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Invus Global Management, Llc purchased 1,538,462 shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.30 per share, with a total value of $2,000,000.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,538,462 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,000.60. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond Debbane purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.47 per share, with a total value of $147,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,904,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,799,153.42. This trade represents a 5.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 1,790,462 shares of company stock worth $2,369,981. Company insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,521,874 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,855,000 after acquiring an additional 670,838 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,821,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,545,000 after purchasing an additional 991,073 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 752.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,007,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654,315 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,500,022 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 102,099 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,240,000. 74.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel medicines through its proprietary genome biology platform. By leveraging large-scale gene knockout libraries, the company identifies potential therapeutic targets and advances them through preclinical and clinical development. Lexicon’s approach emphasizes the translation of genetic insights into targeted therapies for a range of human diseases.

The company’s most advanced product is telotristat ethyl (sold under the brand name XERMELO), an oral treatment approved for the management of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in patients inadequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.