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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,731. This trade represents a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $200,922.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $968,378.84. This represents a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,383 shares of company stock valued at $2,535,891 over the last 90 days. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 848,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,275,000 after buying an additional 70,557 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 54,033 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,460 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 283,899 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,129,000 after acquiring an additional 35,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 801,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,421,000 after purchasing an additional 224,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

XENE stock opened at $40.15 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $50.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.72.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.73) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.13 EPS 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.