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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 4,063 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical daily volume of 165 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of XENE opened at $39.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.79. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $50.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.20.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total value of $770,997.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $200,922.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,378.84. This represents a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,507,135 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $14,621,000. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 243,489 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.