Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a growth of 26.2% from the November 30th total of 1,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.
XENE opened at $30.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.71 and a beta of 1.89. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $13.23 and a 12-month high of $36.42.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 million. Xenon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 28.30% and a negative net margin of 328.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current year.
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 4th. SVB Leerink increased their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 11th. TheStreet downgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.
In related news, Director Simon N. Pimstone sold 17,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total value of $550,060.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Seggern Christopher Von acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $97,600.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Granahan Investment Management Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management Inc. MA now owns 83,854 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the second quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 26,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 212.2% during the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,650 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.65% of the company’s stock.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. It develops therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with neurological disorders, including rare central nervous system (CNS) conditions. The company’s products include XEN496, XEN1101, XEN901 and XEN007. Xenon Pharmaceuticals was founded by Simon Neil Pimstone, Johannes J.