Xenon Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:XENE)

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $40.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -14.24 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $50.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.72.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.73) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $200,922.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $968,378.84. This trade represents a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,383 shares of company stock valued at $2,535,891. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 109.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 175,584 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,846,000 after acquiring an additional 91,923 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $102,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 212,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,358,000 after buying an additional 138,685 shares in 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.