Celgene Corporation (CELG) Call Buyers Still Waiting for a Breakout

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) isn't moving much, despite the firm's agreement to collaborate with Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO) on immunotherapy research

Jun 30, 2015 at 3:00 PM

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) is sitting out the rally among biopharmaceutical stocks, despite the company inking a 10-year deal with Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO) to develop immunotherapy treatments. Specifically, while JUNO has surged over 16%, CELG is up a mere 0.6% at $115.57 -- disappointing news for option bulls.

During the last four weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open 2.44 CELG calls for every put. To put that in perspective, the ratio was a more modest 1.45 at the end of May. In other words, bullish betting has picked up in recent weeks.

The brokerage bunch is also exceedingly optimistic. Thirteen analysts currently rate CELG a "buy" or better, compared to three "holds" and not a single "sell." Plus, the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $137.15 stands in never-before-seen territory.

On the charts, Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) has struggled to break out of the $120-$122 neighborhood in recent months. Along similar lines, the stock has given back 10.5% since touching a record high of $129.06 in late March -- though it's currently found a foothold atop its 40-day moving average, located at $114.24.

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