Traders Purchase Large Volume of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Put Options (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 4,063 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical volume of 165 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $770,997.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $200,922.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $968,378.84. This represents a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,917,684 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $272,349,000 after buying an additional 149,511 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,419,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $172,315,000 after acquiring an additional 97,732 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,843,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $151,317,000 after purchasing an additional 15,226 shares during the period. Braidwell LP lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 2,707,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $106,585,000 after purchasing an additional 146,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 144.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,552,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $100,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,135 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on XENE shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ XENE opened at $39.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $50.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.79.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.