Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 4,125,033 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 144% from the previous session’s volume of 1,688,296 shares.The stock last traded at $1.5850 and had previously closed at $1.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LXRX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.23.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 5.64 and a quick ratio of 5.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $566.90 million, a P/E ratio of -8.21 and a beta of 0.71.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 96.77% and a negative return on equity of 52.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 901,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 122,010 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $3,240,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $935,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 133.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,830,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,187,396 shares in the last quarter. 74.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel medicines through its proprietary genome biology platform. By leveraging large-scale gene knockout libraries, the company identifies potential therapeutic targets and advances them through preclinical and clinical development. Lexicon’s approach emphasizes the translation of genetic insights into targeted therapies for a range of human diseases.

The company’s most advanced product is telotristat ethyl (sold under the brand name XERMELO), an oral treatment approved for the management of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in patients inadequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.