Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) Shares Up 5% – Should You Buy?

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)’s stock price shot up 5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $63.86 and last traded at $63.43. 297,710 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,253,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XENE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.13.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of -13.07 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.04 and a 200 day moving average of $56.36.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.05. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.07) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -4.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary Patou sold 1,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $70,251.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,322,973.44. The trade was a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gillian Cannon sold 1,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.14, for a total transaction of $63,236.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,318.70. This trade represents a 44.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,512 shares of company stock valued at $774,088 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cinctive Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 23,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 28,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 25.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 90,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,255,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.