The drugmaker nearly doubled fourth-quarter revenues
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) is up 1.9% to trade at $632.42 at last check, after the drug maker posted a top- and bottom-line beat for its fourth quarter, which included revenues nearly doubling on sales of its Covid-19 antibody treatment, as well as higher demand for its Dupixent and Eylea drugs. The company added that due to the lack of efficacy of REGEN-COV against omicron, it is "working hard to develop next generation antibodies that are active against omicron and all other variants of concern."
The stock looks ready to overcome pressure from the $630 level, which is home to REGN's breakeven level. What's more, shares have support from the 180-day moving average -- a trendline that contained a dramatic mid-October pullback. The $600 level has also stepped in as a floor on the charts, keeping the stock at a 24.4% year-over-year lead.
Analysts have yet to chime in, but there's still room for upgrades. Of the 14 in coverage, six call REGN a tepid "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $704.46 is an 11.5% premium to current levels.
Options traders have been quite pessimistic. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.29, which sits higher than all but 8% of annual readings. This suggests puts have been getting picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.
What's more, the stock's Schaeffer's put.call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.16 stands in the 79th percentile of its 12-month range, implying short-term options traders are much more put-biased than usual, too.
The equity's typically quiet options pits are picking up steam today. So far, 435 calls and 366 puts have crossed the tape -- triple the intraday average. The most popular is the February 550 put, followed by the 640 put and the 620 calls in the same monthly series.