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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on XENE shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $660,757.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,492 shares of company stock valued at $2,334,969. 5.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 707,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,843,000 after acquiring an additional 46,964 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its stake 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 worth $32,480,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 439,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,287,000 after buying an additional 17,953 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $38,456,000 after buying an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,275.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 13,903 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ XENE opened at $39.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.96 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $50.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.40.

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.