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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

XENE has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, February 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,731. This trade represents a 34.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $34.85 on Friday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $33.27 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.36 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.20 and its 200 day moving average is $39.92.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.