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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. 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.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ XENE opened at $43.44 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $26.74 and a 12-month high of $46.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.74. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.17 and a beta of 1.03.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.81) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,088.32. The trade was a 44.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,302 shares of company stock worth $2,150,928. 4.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,584,859 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $153,822,000 after buying an additional 64,264 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,789,197 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $127,128,000 after acquiring an additional 11,586 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,605,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $112,837,000 after acquiring an additional 895,154 shares during the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the second quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 3,025,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $94,682,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 53.8% in the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 2,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,600,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XENE. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Bloom Burton upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Chardan Capital raised shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.27.

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.