Jennison Associates LLC Has $31.42 Million Stock Holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 801,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 224,892 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $102,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings 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 valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of XENE opened at $39.98 on Wednesday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $50.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.20.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.73) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on XENE. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total value 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 approximately $1,267,731. This represents a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $968,378.84. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,383 shares of company stock worth $2,535,891 over the last ninety days. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.