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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XENE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 9th. William Blair upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.45.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ XENE opened at $41.97 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $28.10 and a twelve month high of $50.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.88 and a beta of 1.25.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $102,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised 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 worth $106,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 207.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

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.