Traders Buy 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. Stock investors acquired 4,063 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the typical volume of 165 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XENE. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $601,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $92,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sherrington Robin sold 7,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $330,300.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,659.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $601,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,560. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XENE. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,567.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,334 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 260.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 933 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 124.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 414.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of XENE stock opened at $40.31 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.80. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $27.99 and a one year high of $50.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.12. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.57) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.04 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.