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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,938 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 293,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,534,000 after buying an additional 121,213 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $370,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $10,939,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ XENE opened at $40.09 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.70. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $27.99 and a 12-month high of $50.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.79 and a beta of 1.25.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.70) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.72) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on XENE. William Blair upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.78.

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.