The shares of Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) are up 1.5% at $421 this morning, following a slew of analyst bull notes, including a hefty price-target hike from J.P. Morgan Securities to $435 from $269, as well as an upgrade from UBS to "buy," and an upgrade from Bernstein to "outperform." Both brokerages are expecting this week's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Biogen's Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm to give it a big sales boost. 

The new drug has been the subject of controversy this week, with a third member of a key FDA panel resigning over its approval last night, calling it "one of the worst drug approval decisions in recent U.S. history," in a resignation letter. The treatment has a hefty price tag, too. Biogen listed the treatment at $56,000 per year -- much higher than the $10,000 to $25,000 price several analysts were expecting -- but promised not to hike the price for four years. 

The maelstrom of news surrounding the drug has BIIB making some incredibly outsized moves. The stock surged 38% on Monday, hitting a record peak of $468.55, and has continued to climb higher for most of the week. Should today's gains hold, the stock could be heading for its biggest weekly percentage gain on record. 

Today's round of bull notes could just be the beginning for Biogen. The equity's 12-month consensus price target of $390.49 is a 7% discount to last night's close. Plus, heading into today, nine considered BIIB a "buy" or better, compared to 16 calling it a "hold." 

The options pits have also been a bit more bearish than usual. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), BIIB sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.19, which stands higher than 90% of reading in its annual range. Plus, the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.27 sits in the 91st percentile of its annual range, meaning short-term options traders have been more put-biased than normal. 

Despite all this volatility, BIIB options can still be had at a bargain. This is per the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 43%, which stands higher than just 11% of readings from the past 12 months. This means options traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations for the stock at the moment. 

Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks last week and look ahead to how the cannabis industry continues to take shape in 2021. But before we whiparound the industry, check out our recent articles analyzing meme stocks featuring some sector favorites like Tilray (TLRY) and Sundial Growers (SNDL) and how they "work." We also featured an in-depth article analyzing TLRY. 

Investor interest in the cannabis industry is growing at an explosive rate, and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier, especially in the United States. More than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020. Now, more and more companies are starting to see the opportunity in cannabis cultivation, marketing, distribution, and technology.

The United States Cannabis Council (USCC) released the results of a poll focusing on the voters' opinions of federal cannabis reform. According to the story, 70% of registered voters in Arizona, Utah, and West Virginia supported legalization of cannabis on a federal level. The major takeaway from this recent study is that more and more Americans are accepting the concept of federal cannabis legalization.

In cannabis news around the world, Morocco has legalized the cultivation and commercialization of cannabis. However, according to the Minister of Morocco, "illegal use and consumption of marijuana is still prohibited in the country." The country wants to take advantage of the development opportunities in the cannabis industry and minimize illegal cultivation through this move.

Here is a quick roundup of major (and action-worthy!) cannabis stock news this week:

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE:XXII), a leading plant-based biotechnology company focused on cannabis research, announced on June 7 that it has entered into a definitive agreement with one institutional investor for the sale of 10 million shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $4.00 per share in a registered direct offering for gross proceeds for $40 million. XXII also shared that, later this week, it would be added to the Russell 2000, Russell 3000, and Russell Global Indexes after the Russell US Indexes annual reconstitution, effective at the opening of the U.S. equity markets on June 28.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA) announced on June 9 that the FDA had granted Orphan Drug Designation status to etrasimod, a highly selective, once-daily, oral sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis.

Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC) has been approved by Supreme Cannabis shareholders on June 10 to be sold. For $435 million. Supreme says 81.05 percent of the votes cast were in favor of the deal. The sale needed at least a two-thirds majority vote to be approved. Under the deal, Supreme shareholders will receive 0.01165872 of a Canopy common share and 0.01 of a cent in cash for each Supreme share held.

On June 9, Cardiff Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRDF), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing onvansertib to treat cancers with the greatest medical needs for new treatment options, published a press release announcing the appointments of Mani Mohindru, Ph.D., and Renee P. Tannenbaum, Pharm.D., as independent members of the Cardiff Oncology's Board of Directors.

Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON), an innovative global cannabinoid company, and Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc, which is building the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, announced on June 4 that the two companies have amended collaboration and license agreement that will enable CRON and Gingko Bioworks to accelerate the commercialization of cultured cannabinoids to scale.

GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ:GRWG), the nation's largest chain of specialty hydroponic and organic garden centers, announced on June 7 that Power Si, a proprietary brand operated and owned by GrowGen, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with GreenPlanet Wholesale, one of Canada's oldest and most trusted hydroponic distributors.

On June 8, HEXO Corp (NYSE:HEXO) announced a commitment to offsetting the company's operational carbon emissions and the personal emissions of all 1,200 employees, with a goal of making HEXO operations 100% carbon neutral from September 2021 onwards. Subsequently, HEXO announced on June 9 that it had won a dismissal of the securities class action pending in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. HEXO and certain of its current and former officers and directors were named in shareholder class action lawsuits filed in the Southern District of New York.

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR), the first and only real estate company on the New York Stock Exchange focused on the regulated U.S. cannabis industry, announced on June 8 that it had published its inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report. IIPR's report highlights how the company addresses the top ESG priorities that matter to its stockholders, employees, tenant partners, communities, and other stakeholders.

On June 10, Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:NEPT) announced that it has launched three new Mood Ring branded cannabis products, including the first branded flower product, in the province of British Columbia.

Also on June 10, Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VFF) released the voting results from its annual and special meeting of shareholders held earlier. A total of 49.3 million common shares of VFF, representing 60.76% of the company's issued and outstanding common shares, were voted in connection with the meeting by shareholders and proxy holders.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZYNE), the leader in innovative pharmaceutically-produced transdermal cannabinoid therapies for rare and near-rare neuropsychiatric disorders, announced on June 10 that it had adjourned its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders due to a lack of quorum. 46.4% of shares were voted, just below the 50% required for a quorum.

Cryptocurrency and so-call "meme" stocks have been all the rage over the past few months. However, while the crypto and Reddit buzz took home the headlines, big-name FAANG stocks such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL),  Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), were seeing their own noteworthy market moves. Specifically, right now the market is littered with "Large Cap" companies that are in fact down year-to-date (YTD). In focus today is AAPL, which as of Friday has shed 6% YTD. The last time the equity shed this much year-to-date by the month of June, was in 2016.

The main finding that seems strange to me is that meme stocks seem to move up around 10% per day, every day, on average. This happens while larger cap household names – titans of their industry that ultimately support the fundamentals of the market -- have struggled and are down year-to-date.

For example, Apple has spent very little time this year in positive territory, per the chart below. This suggests there is underlying weakness in the market and that the "fast money" has flipped from cryptocurrency to small-cap meme stocks. However, it is yet to be determined if investors will rekindle their love for large-cap tech names that led the market out of the Covid-19 quarantine.

Regardless of AAPL’s next move, it’s been a bit of a feeding frenzy in the equity's options pits. The stock just popped up on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of stocks that attracted the most option volume during the past 10 days. According to White, 1,417,825 calls and 659,470 puts were exchanged. The two most popular contracts during this time period were the weekly 5/28 127-strike call and the May 130 call.

Now seems like a good opportunity to weigh in on Apple stock's next move with options. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 23% stands in the 15th percentile of its annual range, indicating options players are now pricing in low volatility expectations. Lastly, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at 83 out of 100, implying the stock tends to outperform these volatility expectations -- a boon for option buyers.

Beyond Apple stock’s own technical setup, the way its lagging behind the jumpier names of 2021 reflects the broader rotation out of tech names. Whether this relationship between Reddit darlings and tech heavyweights such as AAPL maintain their seemingly inverse nature, will be something for investors to watch in the second-half of 2021.

Subscribers to Bernie Schaeffer's Chart of the Week received this commentary on Sunday, June 6.

Investors will close out the week today with the economic calendar featuring the consumer sentiment index.

There are no public companies slated to release quarterly earnings reports today, June 11, as earnings season winds down.

In case you missed it, earlier this week we dropped the 411 on meme stocks. We provided some background, what qualifies a stock as a meme stock, and a bunch of other frequently asked questions. So, here is everything you need to know about meme stocks. At Schaeffer's Investment Research, we see major opportunity surrounding meme stocks to be played from an options perspective. More on that, soon!

Looking ahead to next week, investors will be rounding out mid-June with a mix of economic reports and earnings. Plenty of manufacturing data will be highlighted next week, as well as housing. Wednesday will bring announcements from the Federal Reserve and its Chairman, Jerome Powell. Meanwhile, though earnings season has come and gone, there will still be a handful of quarterly reports to unpack, including H & R Block (HRB), Kroger (KR), and Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI). All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.

The shares of Wells Fargo &Co (NYSE:WFC) have enjoyed a solid run higher in 2021, adding over 50% since the beginning of the year. The security has yet to overtake its pre-pandemic levels, though, and the bank stock has been middling since May, when it ran into pressure at the $48 mark. Today, the equity is off 1.1% at $45.41, though there's reason to believe the financial name could soon break out of its holding pattern. 

Specifically, WFC just came within one standard deviation of its 40-day moving average, after a lengthy stretch above the trendline. There have been four similar signals occurring in the past three years, according to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. WFC was higher one month after three of these pullbacks, averaging a 7.3% pop. A similar move would put the security back above aforementioned pressure at the $48 mark, for the first time since February 2020.

An unwinding of pessimism in the options pits could push WFC higher. At the moment, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.91 stands higher than all other readings from the past year. This suggests short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased. Plus, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), WFC sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio that stands in the 96th percentile of its annual range. 

A change of tune among the brokerage bunch could also give Wells Fargo stock some upward momentum. While nine analysts covering WFC consider it a "buy" or better, seven still say "hold." 

Rounding out mid-June will be a mix of economic reports and earnings. Plenty of manufacturing data will be highlighted this week, as well as housing. Wednesday will bring announcements from the Federal Reserve and its Chairman, Jerome Powell. Meanwhile, though earnings season has come and gone, there will still be a handful of quarterly reports to unpack, including H & R Block (HRB), Kroger (KR), and Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI). 

Below is a list of key market events scheduled for the upcoming week. All economic dates listed below are tentative and subject to change.

 The week will start off slow on Monday, June 14, with nothing scheduled.

Things get busy fast on Tuesday, June 15, however, with retail sales, the producer price index (PPI), Empire state manufacturing index, industrial production data, business inventories, and the NAHB home builders' index slated for release. 

Wednesday, June 16 will bring building permits, housing starts, the import price index, and an update from the Federal Reserve and Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 

Finally, Thursday, June 17, the usual initial and continuing jobless claims data are due out, as well as the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, and leading economic indicators.

Friday, June 18, there is no economic data to report. 

Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) is back in the spotlight today, after the biotech concern asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine mRNA in adolescents ages 12 to 17. On May 25, Moderna said its vaccine was 100% effective in a study of adolescents in that age range -- which included more than 3,700 participants -- and saw no new Covid-19 cases observed after two doses of the vaccine. MRNA is responding well to the news, last seen 1.9% higher to trade at $221.48.

The company made headlines earlier this month after applying for full FDA approval for the vaccine, and the security went on to notch a new record high of $227.71 by June 7. Carving out a channel of higher highs all year, the shares' 10-day moving average has moved in to guide the shares higher in recent months. Now up an impressive 108.6% year-to-date, MRNA is on track for its fourth straight weekly win.

Moderna stock is sporting attractively priced premiums at the moment, too. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 63% stands higher than just 10% of all other readings from the past year. In simpler terms, option players are pricing in low volatility expectations right now.

What’s more, its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a relatively high 81 out of a possible 100, indicating that the stock has managed to exceed these volatility expectations over the last 12 months.