Raymond James downgraded SAGE to "Market Perform" from "Outperform"
The shares of Sage Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) are down 1.8% at $72.78 at last check, after Raymond James downgraded the stock to "Market Perform" from "Outperform," following its recent $1.5 billion deal with Biogen (BIIB) to develop therapies to treat depression and other neurological disorders. The firm cited the partnership, stating that it is unclear how the deal will accelerate Sage's earlier pipeline, and how Biogen's reasoning concerning their ability to build a presence within the psychiatric field was weak. A wave of other analysts chimed in as well, with no fewer than five analysts cutting their price targets, while Truist Securities lifted its price target to $70 from $60.
Dropping from last week's 11-month high, yesterday's steep pullback was caught by the 60-day moving average, which has served as an area of support since May. Currently, the stock is up just 0.8% year-to-date.
And though short interest has just begun to unwind, the 5.35 million shares sold short still account for 10.7% of the stock's available float, or over eight days to cover at SAGE's average pace of trading. This allows ample room for a short squeeze that could act as a potential tailwind.
Lastly, now looks like a decent time to weigh in on Sage stock's next move with options. This is per the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 80%, which sits in the 25th percentile of its annual range, which indicates the options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.