Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX)

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 2,504 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 61% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,558 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXRX. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 49,867,042 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,291,000 after acquiring an additional 11,179,919 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 630.7% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,988,421 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,638,000 after purchasing an additional 7,758,371 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 301.5% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 7,558,621 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,582,000 after buying an additional 5,676,021 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 6,604,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 4,300,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tang Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 750.3% during the fourth quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 850,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 750,268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LXRX stock opened at $0.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $0.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.00. The stock has a market cap of $140.48 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 7.45, a quick ratio of 7.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.28 and a 12 month high of $2.45.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.02. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4,109.41% and a negative return on equity of 107.38%. The business had revenue of $26.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down previously from $2.00) on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.67.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its orally-delivered small molecule drug candidates under development comprise Sotagliflozin that completed Phase III clinical trials for the for the treatment of heart failure and type 1 diabetes; and LX9211, which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of neuropathic pain and LX2761, which is in Phase I clinical development for gastrointestinal tract.