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

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,567.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,334 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 260.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 933 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 414.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

XENE opened at $41.63 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.80. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $27.99 and a 1 year high of $50.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.31 and a beta of 1.15.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.12. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.57) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on XENE shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.44.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.