DnB Asset Management AS Has $7.97 Million Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,620 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 73,762 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 126,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XENE opened at $34.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.73. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.27 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -12.15 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,731. This represents a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals 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.