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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on XENE. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. William Blair raised Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.90.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 8.2 %

Xenon Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $3.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.45. 440,573 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 387,761. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $50.99. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.99 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.40.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.73) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $200,922.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $968,378.84. This trade represents a 17.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XENE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,949 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.