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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE – Get Rating) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 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.

XENE opened at $29.62 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $14.65 and a fifty-two week high of $36.42. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.92 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.36.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.57) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $3.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 million. Xenon Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 425.88% and a negative return on equity of 24.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.34) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Simon N. Pimstone sold 31,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.50, for a total transaction of $948,123.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Simon N. Pimstone sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.61, for a total transaction of $285,438.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,974 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,047. 7.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% in the third quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,158,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,709,000 after buying an additional 564,850 shares during the period. Altium Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Altium Capital Management LP now owns 216,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,300,000 after acquiring an additional 61,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 120,121 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 23,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 19.5% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,077,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,469,000 after purchasing an additional 175,500 shares during the period.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on XENE shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “sell” rating for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, March 14th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.80.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals (Get Rating)

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 epilepsy encephalopathy; and XEN1101, A Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.

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