Traders Purchase Large Volume of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Put Options (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 4,063 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,362% compared to the average daily volume of 165 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $903,213.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,258,340.40. The trade was a 41.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 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. The trade was a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,383 shares of company stock worth $2,535,891 over the last ninety days. 5.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,525,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $294,991,000 after purchasing an additional 607,606 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,843,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,317,000 after acquiring an additional 15,226 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 2,913,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $114,227,000 after acquiring an additional 206,709 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,866,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $112,425,000 after acquiring an additional 314,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,697,657 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $105,748,000 after acquiring an additional 253,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

XENE stock opened at $38.50 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $50.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 1.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XENE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.38.

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.