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

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

Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XENE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ XENE opened at $29.74 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $26.74 and a 1 year high of $46.00. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -10.55 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.12.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.62) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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.