Xenon Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:XENE)

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.9 %

XENE opened at $39.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.04 and a 200-day moving average of $40.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $50.99.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.73) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,378.84. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,949 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.