Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $1.63, but opened at $1.54. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $1.5950, with a volume of 866,813 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LXRX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.63.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 5.63 and a current ratio of 5.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.32. The stock has a market cap of $612.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 96.77% and a negative return on equity of 52.90%. On average, analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Invus Global Management, Llc bought 1,538,462 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.30 per share, with a total value of $2,000,000.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,538,462 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,000.60. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Raymond Debbane purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 1,790,462 shares of company stock worth $2,369,981 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $51,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 80.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,804 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 25,707 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 559,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 155,086 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $131,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,521,874 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,855,000 after acquiring an additional 670,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.