Investors 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. Investors bought 4,063 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,362% compared to the average volume of 165 put options.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of XENE opened at $39.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $50.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.65.

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

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $200,922.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $968,378.84. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were 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. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XENE. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 144.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,552,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,506,000 after buying an additional 1,507,135 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 905,129 shares during the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $14,621,000. Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 57.1% in the third quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 825,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,480,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 639,685 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,941,000 after purchasing an additional 243,489 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.