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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 4,063 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,362% compared to the average volume of 165 put options.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $43.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -15.30 and a beta of 1.25. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $33.62 and a 52-week high of $50.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.37 and a 200 day moving average of $40.22.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XENE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. William Blair upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.45.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,378.84. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XENE. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $102,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during 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 buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 207.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $287,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.