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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on XENE. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, February 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $770,997.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $903,213.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,258,340.40. The trade was a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,492 shares of company stock valued at $2,334,969 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 191,852 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,521,000 after purchasing an additional 29,169 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 298,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,709,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $37.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.18 and a beta of 1.26. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $33.27 and a one year high of $47.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.27.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.05. Analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share 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.