Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Put Options (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 4,063 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,362% compared to the typical daily volume of 165 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,419,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $172,315,000 after buying an additional 97,732 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,475,859 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $106,586,000 after buying an additional 20,176 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 994,227 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,765,000 after buying an additional 156,840 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 895,196 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,539,000 after acquiring an additional 177,224 shares during the period. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 639,685 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,941,000 after acquiring an additional 243,489 shares during the period. 95.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of XENE stock opened at $41.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -15.46 and a beta of 1.25. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $27.99 and a 52-week high of $50.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.16.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.72) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. William Blair upgraded Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.45.

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.