Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE – Get Rating) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, Director Gary Patou sold 2,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.33, for a total transaction of $70,616.81. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $809,261.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 39,347 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 191,836 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,925,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 14,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,289 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. 92.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.52) by ($0.05). Xenon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 17.31% and a negative net margin of 862.06%. The business had revenue of $0.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xenon Pharmaceuticals will post -2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on XENE. StockNews.com began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. Raymond James began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.56.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN496, A Kv7 potassium channel opener that is Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of KCNQ2 developmental and epilepsy encephalopathy; and XEN1101, A Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders.

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