Xenon Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:XENE)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:XENE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 4,063 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,362% compared to the average volume of 165 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XENE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Chardan Capital raised shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.73.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of XENE opened at $42.51 on Thursday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $26.74 and a fifty-two week high of $46.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 0.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xenon Pharmaceuticals

In other Xenon Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ian Mortimer sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.43, for a total value of $1,777,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $266,580. The trade was a 86.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,302 shares of company stock valued at $2,924,128. Insiders own 4.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 24,444 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,609,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,096 shares during the period. Braidwell LP lifted its position in Xenon Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position 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 worth $153,058,000 after buying an additional 233,466 shares in the last quarter. 95.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.