A second booster shot could be in the works to prevent another Covid outbreak
Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and partner BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) filed an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this morning to approve emergency use authorization for a second booster shot of its Covid-19 vaccine. On Sunday, CEO Albert Bourla told CBS that this fourth dose would be necessary to prevent another wave. In response, BNTX is up 6.2%, while PFE inches 0.5% higher.
Put traders have been targeting both stocks at a higher than usual rate recently. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), PFE's 50-day put/call volume ratio stands higher than all other readings from the past year, while BNTX's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.22 sits in the 94th percentile of its annual range.
Now looks like a good time to weigh in on these options, too. PFE's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 96 out of 100, while BNTX's comes in at 99. This means both stock's have exceeded option traders' volatility expectations during the past year, which is a good thing for options buyers.
On the charts, PFE has been climbing in recent weeks, after bouncing off support at the $46 level. Year-to-date though, the equity is still down 10.8%. BioNTech stock has been struggling a bit more, down 39.9% year-to-date. The stock recently staged a bounce off the $120 level, but is running into pressure at its 40-day moving average.