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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 4,063 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the typical volume of 165 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrea Difabio sold 1,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total value of $74,118.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,234.23. This trade represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 7,308 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total transaction of $403,620.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 19,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,347.29. This represents a 26.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 336,707 shares of company stock worth $19,622,565. 4.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2,560.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $49.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.88.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2%

Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $55.07 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.28. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $26.74 and a 12 month high of $63.95. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 0.91.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.20) by ($0.11). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.84) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.