Investors Purchase High Volume of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Put Options (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 4,063 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the average daily volume of 165 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,378.84. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,275.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 13,903 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 68.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $967,000 after buying an additional 10,007 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,843,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,317,000 after buying an additional 15,226 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.9 %

Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $39.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $50.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.07 and its 200-day moving average is $40.65.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.73) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XENE. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.