J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Invests $697,000 in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

XENE opened at $37.59 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.74 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of -13.33 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.85 and its 200 day moving average is $38.72.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on XENE shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. One 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $903,213.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,258,340.40. This trade represents a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.