Sales of its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tecfidera managed to beat expectations
Biogen Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) earlier lifted its full-year profit forecast after reporting blowout second-quarter profits of $5.25 per share on revenue of $2.59 billion, both of which came in above Wall Street's expectations, as sales of multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tecfidera topped estimates. Nevertheless, the equity was last seen down 2.5% to trade at $214.69 amid the company's warnings over increased competition from other generic rivals in the U.S.
The security's latest rally off the $188 region lost steam at the $222 level yesterday. Shares still have support at the 20-day moving average, though, which started guiding BIIB higher in mid-June. Longer term, Biogen stock still carries a hefty 32.2% year-over-year deficit.
Short-term options traders have been relatively optimistic towards Biogen stock, per the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.66, which sits higher than just 17% of readings from the last year. In other words, short-term options traders have rarely been more call-biased.
The good news for those looking to speculate with options is they can be had for a bargain at the moment, per BIIB's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 36%, which sits higher than 18% of readings in its annual range, meaning options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations right now.