Xenon Pharmaceuticals Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 4,063 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the average daily volume of 165 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.44.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $601,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Sherrington Robin sold 7,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $330,300.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,659.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven Gannon sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $601,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $92,560. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 260.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 933 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 414.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 124.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,567.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,334 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ XENE opened at $41.63 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.80. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.31 and a beta of 1.15. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $27.99 and a 1 year high of $50.99.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.12. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.57) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

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.