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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 4,063 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,362% compared to the average volume of 165 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. FMR LLC grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,525,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $294,991,000 after acquiring an additional 607,606 shares during the period. Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,520,000. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 60.5% during the first quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,300,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $43,615,000 after buying an additional 490,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,356,895 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,190,000 after buying an additional 380,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stempoint Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

XENE stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 612,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 560,640. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.62 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.36. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $26.74 and a 12 month high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XENE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.82.

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.