Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.86 and last traded at $1.86, with a volume of 2132253 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.58 and a 200-day moving average of $1.43. The company has a market cap of $792.28 million, a P/E ratio of -13.36 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.88, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a negative net margin of 101.08%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

In other Lexicon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Raymond Debbane bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.47 per share, with a total value of $147,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,904,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,799,153.42. This trade represents a 5.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Invus Global Management, Llc acquired 1,538,462 shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.30 per share, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.60. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,538,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,000.60. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,790,462 shares of company stock worth $2,369,981 in the last three months. 14.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXRX. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 136,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 29,319 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 173.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 285,759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 181,265 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $541,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $263,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 431.4% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 66,276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 53,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

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.