Xenon Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 4,063 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the average daily volume of 165 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XENE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, William Blair raised Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.78.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. 17 Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $122,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 207.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $195,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ XENE opened at $40.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.70. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $27.99 and a twelve month high of $50.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -14.79 and a beta of 1.25.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.75) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.72) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN496, a Kv7 potassium channel opener that is Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of KCNQ2 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy; and XEN1101, a Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.