Xenon Pharmaceuticals Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:XENE)

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

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 40,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.43, for a total transaction of $1,777,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,580. This trade represents a 86.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 65,302 shares of company stock worth $2,924,128 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XENE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 66.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,609,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,936,000 after buying an additional 1,435,096 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,605,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,837,000 after acquiring an additional 895,154 shares in the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 3,025,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $94,682,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 2,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,600,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.2% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,976,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $79,359,000 after purchasing an additional 167,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of XENE opened at $41.15 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $26.74 and a 1-year high of $46.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.58 and a beta of 0.96.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.01. Xenon Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel, small‐molecule drugs targeting ion channels in the central and peripheral nervous system. The company’s research focus centers on neurological and pain disorders—including epilepsy, migraine, and neuropathic pain—by modulating key ion‐channel proteins to restore normal neuronal function. Xenon’s scientific platform draws upon advances in ion‐channel biology and structure‐based drug design to identify and optimize therapeutic candidates with the potential for improved safety and efficacy profiles compared with existing treatments.

The company’s pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical programs.