Atika Capital Management LLC Sells 53,400 Shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Atika Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 53,400 shares during the period. Atika Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of XENE opened at $29.40 on Friday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a one year low of $29.20 and a one year high of $46.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.90 and a 200 day moving average of $39.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 1.21.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. Analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on XENE. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

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.