Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Trading 6.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) traded up 6.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.76 and last traded at $1.7750. 810,655 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 2,820,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $2.10 to $2.30 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.15.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.87, a current ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $764.74 million, a PE ratio of -12.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a negative net margin of 101.08%.The company had revenue of $5.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

In other Lexicon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Raymond Debbane purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.47 per share, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,904,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,799,153.42. The trade was a 5.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Invus Global Management, Llc purchased 1,538,462 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.30 per share, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,538,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.60. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 1,790,462 shares of company stock worth $2,369,981 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 14.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LXRX. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 136,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 29,319 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 173.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 285,759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 181,265 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 431.4% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 66,276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 53,805 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

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.