Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lowered its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 623 shares during the quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 194,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,643,000 after purchasing an additional 20,986 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 62,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after purchasing an additional 15,250 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,097,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $697,000. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,161,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,520,000 after purchasing an additional 17,216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.78.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $37.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.42 and a beta of 1.21. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $26.74 and a one year high of $46.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.64.

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.