Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stock Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,496,511 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 32,303 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $58,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% in 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 last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ XENE opened at $34.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.15 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.73. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.27 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,731. This represents a 34.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on XENE. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

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.