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. Traders bought 4,063 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical daily volume of 165 put options.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ XENE opened at $42.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.25. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $26.74 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.02 and a beta of 1.14.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,088.32. The trade was a 44.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 541.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Finally, L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on XENE. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

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.