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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on XENE shares. Chardan Capital raised Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Bloom Burton raised Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,088.32. This represents a 44.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 24,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 112.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ XENE opened at $44.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.53 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.88. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $26.74 and a 1-year high of $45.01.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.15) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.01. Xenon Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.81) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current 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.