Mylan's new cancer infection drug will be a competitor to AMGN's Neulasta
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just approved Fulphila, a cancer infection treatment developed by Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ:MYL) and India-based Biocon (BION). The drug will be launched in the coming weeks. In response, Leerink issued a price-target hike to $53 from $52, while an analyst at RBC noted the approval sets the tone for other important pipeline developments down the road. The news has MYL stock up 7.6% to trade at $41.44 in early trading.
Mylan stock is on pace for its best single-day performance since October. Since touching a high of $47.82 in late January, the equity has given back nearly 20%, carving out a channel of lower highs amid pressure from the 50-day moving average. However, today's move has the shares well above this key trendline.
There's been plenty of skepticism levied toward the drug stock. MYL's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.47 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the elevated 91st annual percentile. The high percentile suggests the rate of put buying has been accelerated relative to call buying lately.
On the other side of the coin, Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) stock is down 1% to trade at $183.53, as Fulphila will be a competitor to Neulasta, Amgen's own blockbuster infection drug. RBC promptly trimmed its price target to $183 from $184.
On the charts, AMGN stock is currently riding a four-week winning streak since bouncing off the $165 level in early May. Despite the pullback today, AMGN is still trading above its year-to-date breakeven level, and has added 15% in the last 12 months. The stock also recently found itself on a list of the best S&P 500 stocks to own this summer. According to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, AMGN in the past 10 years has averaged a return of 12.11% between the June-August period.