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

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $39.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.07 and a 200-day moving average of $40.65. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $50.99.

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

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 707,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,843,000 after buying an additional 46,964 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 57.1% in the third quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 825,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,480,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,419,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $172,315,000 after acquiring an additional 97,732 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,574,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $4,132,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.