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

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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE traded up $2.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.73. 957,881 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,497. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of -13.02 and a beta of 1.21. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $26.74 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.73.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.05. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 22,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $903,213.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,258,340.40. This represents a 41.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1,263.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 976,783 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 905,129 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,525,290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $294,991,000 after buying an additional 607,606 shares in the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,520,000. Stempoint Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,733,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,866,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $112,425,000 after acquiring an additional 314,363 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on XENE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began 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. StockNews.com cut Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.78.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.