Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:LXRX)

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 2,504 call options on the company. This is an increase of 61% compared to the average daily volume of 1,558 call options.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $0.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 229,836,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,924,403. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $0.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.01. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $0.28 and a fifty-two week high of $2.47. The firm has a market cap of $147.25 million, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 7.45, a quick ratio of 7.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.02. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4,109.41% and a negative return on equity of 107.38%. The company had revenue of $26.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 million. On average, analysts forecast that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will post -0.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 71.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,853 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 13,246 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,996 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 15,249 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 62,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 16,136 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 24,615 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 74.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LXRX shares. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.67.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its orally-delivered small molecule drug candidates under development comprise Sotagliflozin that completed Phase III clinical trials for the for the treatment of heart failure and type 1 diabetes; and LX9211, which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of neuropathic pain and LX2761, which is in Phase I clinical development for gastrointestinal tract.