Insider Buying: Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) CEO Acquires $49,906.24 in Stock

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) CEO Michael Exton purchased 30,064 shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.66 per share, with a total value of $49,906.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 328,496 shares in the company, valued at $545,303.36. The trade was a 10.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LXRX opened at $1.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $832.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.89. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1.10 and a 52 week high of $2.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 10.56 and a current ratio of 10.62.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 million. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 35.76% and a negative net margin of 161.80%. On average, research analysts predict that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LXRX. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new stake in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 43.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 27,459 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 8,335 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LXRX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $3.10 to $3.40 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.80.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company based in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1995 as Lexicon Genetics, the company uses drug discovery and development research to create medicines for serious diseases, with a focus on areas of unmet medical need. Its commercial product, Inpefa (sotagliflozin), is approved in the United States to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and worsening heart failure in adults with heart failure. Lexicon also develops investigational medicines, including candidates studied for neuropathic pain and other conditions.