Traders Buy Large Volume of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Put Options (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 4,063 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical volume of 165 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on XENE. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ XENE opened at $30.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -10.89 and a beta of 1.21. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $30.07 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.51.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in XENE. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,932,000. HighVista Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 73,762 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 144.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,552,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,506,000 after buying an additional 1,507,135 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 279,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,004,000 after buying an additional 32,701 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 273,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,776,000 after buying an additional 64,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN1101, a novel and potent Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.