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

Key Points

• Investors have significantly increased their interest in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by purchasing 4,063 put options, a rise of 2,362% from the usual volume.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Xenon Pharmaceuticals, with eleven investment firms rating the stock as a "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.30.
• Xenon Pharmaceuticals reported a loss of $1.07 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate by $0.04.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 4,063 put options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof2,362% compared to the average volume of 165 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XENE. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $797,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 65,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 22,377 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 15,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 92,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 25,967 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XENE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush upped their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.30.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.1%

XENE traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,603. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $26.74 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -10.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.89.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.75) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share 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.