Xenon Pharmaceuticals Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 4,063 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the typical volume of 165 put options.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of XENE stock opened at $43.15 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.30 and a beta of 1.25. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $33.62 and a 1-year high of $50.99.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.73) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on XENE. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. William Blair raised shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.45.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,378.84. This trade represents a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XENE. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 207.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $287,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.