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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 4,063 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical daily volume of 165 put options.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XENE traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.21. The company had a trading volume of 338,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,382. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.90 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $50.99.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.73) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XENE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary Patou sold 4,891 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $968,378.84. This represents a 17.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,383 shares of company stock valued at $2,535,891 over the last ninety days. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of XENE. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,274 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 2,866 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 492,181 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $19,293,000 after purchasing an additional 28,320 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $797,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 21,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 848,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,275,000 after purchasing an additional 70,557 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.45% of the company's stock.

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.