Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE)
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyXenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 4,063 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,362% compared to the typical daily volume of 165 put options.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 7,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total value of $403,620.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 19,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,347.29. This trade represents a 26.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher John Kenney sold 1,410 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total value of $77,874.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $390,420.87. This trade represents a 16.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 336,707 shares of company stock valued at $19,622,565 in the last ninety days. 4.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Xenon Pharmaceuticals
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,424,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $243,124,000 after acquiring an additional 24,444 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,084,034 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $183,110,000 after purchasing an additional 140,149 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 66.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,609,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,096 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,605,029 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,837,000 after purchasing an additional 895,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,414,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $153,058,000 after purchasing an additional 233,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.45% of the company’s stock.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
NASDAQ:XENE opened at $55.07 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $26.74 and a one year high of $63.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.28.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.20) by ($0.11). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.84) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.88.
View Our Latest Analysis on XENE
About Xenon Pharmaceuticals
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel, small‐molecule drugs targeting ion channels in the central and peripheral nervous system. The company’s research focus centers on neurological and pain disorders—including epilepsy, migraine, and neuropathic pain—by modulating key ion‐channel proteins to restore normal neuronal function. Xenon’s scientific platform draws upon advances in ion‐channel biology and structure‐based drug design to identify and optimize therapeutic candidates with the potential for improved safety and efficacy profiles compared with existing treatments.
The company’s pipeline comprises multiple preclinical and clinical programs.