Receptos, Inc. (RCPT) Drug Data a Boon to Bulls

Receptos Inc (NASDAQ:RCPT) is up 5.4% at midday to wink at $166.81, after the company reported encouraging mid-stage study results for its ulcerative colitis drug, ozanimod. This is welcome news for a recent crop of call buyers at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX).

Diving right in, during the past 10 days across this trio of exchanges, nearly four calls have been bought to open for every put. Along similar lines, RCPT's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) is 0.63, revealing call open interest outstrips put open interest among options with a shelf-life of three months or less.

Options traders aren't the only ones that are optimistic toward the shares. In fact, all three analysts covering RCPT have designated it a "strong buy." However, it's worth noting that the stock's average 12-month price target of $169 is just 1.3% away from current trading levels -- and matches today's intraday high -- potentially paving the way for a round of price-target hikes.

Turning to the charts, bullish sentiment on Receptos Inc (NASDAQ:RCPT) is well-deserved. The equity has more than quintupled in value year-over-year, and is fresh off a record peak of $203.25, touched earlier this month on another positive drug update.