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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on XENE. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.82.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of XENE traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.40. The company had a trading volume of 13,152,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,907. The company's 50 day moving average price is $32.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 1.09. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $26.74 and a 52 week high of $46.00.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.62) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 442,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,854,000 after buying an additional 32,486 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 183,808 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,167,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,281 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 367,233 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,321,000 after buying an additional 78,390 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,914,749 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $64,240,000 after buying an additional 51,276 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.