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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on XENE shares. Citigroup started coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.44.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $42.49 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.62 and a beta of 1.15. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $27.99 and a 12-month high of $50.99.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.12. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.57) earnings per share. Xenon Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $601,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $601,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sherrington Robin sold 7,137 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $330,300.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,398 shares in the company, valued at $388,659.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Walleye Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 40.5% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 126,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,305,000 after purchasing an additional 36,324 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 64.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,728,108 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $59,032,000 after purchasing an additional 677,057 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 38.3% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 590,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,174,000 after purchasing an additional 163,650 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 164.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,396 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,088,000 after purchasing an additional 352,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN496, a Kv7 potassium channel opener that is Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of KCNQ2 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy; and XEN1101, a Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.