Amgen will buy Horizon Therapeutics in a deal expected to close during the first half of 2023
The shares of Horizon Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:HZNP) are up 14.9% at $111.75 this morning, following reports that Amgen (AMGN) will buy the biopharmaceutical company in a deal worth roughly $26.4 billion. The deal will give each Horizon shareholder $116.50 per share for each share owned, and will likely close in the first half f 2023, according to one Amgen executive.
HZNP blew past recent pressure at the 170-day moving average late last month. Today's pop is set to put the security much closer to its 2022 high of $117.49, and could help the stock erase its 9.7% year-to-date deficit.
An unwinding of pessimism among options traders could push HZNP even higher. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.52 stands higher than 98% of readings from the past year. In other words, short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased.
Echoing this, 2.13 puts have been picked up for every call at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 77% of readings from the past year, meaning there's been an unusually healthy appetite for puts of late.