Xenon Pharmaceuticals Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:XENE)

Key Points

• Xenon Pharmaceuticals experienced a significant surge in options trading, with a reported 4,063 put options traded, marking a 2,362% increase from the average volume.
• CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the company at an average price of $40.16, reducing his ownership stake by 44.40%.
• Institutional investors dominate the ownership structure, holding 95.45% of the company's stock, with notable increases in stakes from firms such as Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 4,063 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical volume of 165 put options.

Insider Transactions at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.16, for a total transaction of $1,004,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,088.32. This represents a 44.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XENE. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 6,773 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 241,206 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,092,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 439.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,426,000 after buying an additional 204,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of XENE opened at $39.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.02 and a beta of 1.14. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $26.74 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.01.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by ($0.04). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.75) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XENE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.30.

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.

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