Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LXRX)

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 2,504 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 61% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,558 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $1.00 price target (down previously from $2.00) on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.67.

Institutional Trading of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 49,867,042 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,291,000 after acquiring an additional 11,179,919 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 630.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,988,421 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,638,000 after purchasing an additional 7,758,371 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 301.5% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 7,558,621 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,582,000 after buying an additional 5,676,021 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 6,604,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tang Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 750.3% during the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 850,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 750,268 shares during the period. 74.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LXRX stock opened at $0.57 on Friday. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $0.28 and a 52 week high of $2.45. The company has a market cap of $140.48 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 7.45, a quick ratio of 7.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $0.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.00.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.02. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4,109.41% and a negative return on equity of 107.38%. The company had revenue of $26.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.66 EPS for the current year.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its orally-delivered small molecule drug candidates under development comprise Sotagliflozin that completed Phase III clinical trials for the for the treatment of heart failure and type 1 diabetes; and LX9211, which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of neuropathic pain and LX2761, which is in Phase I clinical development for gastrointestinal tract.