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

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 4,063 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the typical daily volume of 165 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on XENE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.38.

Insider Activity

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sherry Aulin sold 18,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.21, for a total transaction of $770,997.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 16,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total value of $660,757.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,731. The trade was a 34.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,492 shares of company stock valued at $2,334,969. 5.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 174.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $101,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XENE opened at $39.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.96 and a beta of 1.20. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $50.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.40.

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.