The company saw a 26% drop in first-quarter profits, but still posted a revenue beat
Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) stepped into the earnings confessional today to post first-quarter earnings of $3.62 per share -- lower than the $4.38 per share analysts anticipated -- due to Alzheimer's drug Adulhem inventory write-offs, and dismal sales of multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera. Though this marks a 26% drop in quarterly profits, the company's revenue beat expectations. Still, Biogen announced CEO Michel Vounatsos will step down, and is planning for more cost cuts in addition to its program to save $500 million annually.
Last seen up 1.7% to trade at $210.85, Biogen stock is today looking to log its first win in two sessions. The shares have traded near a floor at the $200 level since March, after BIIB's April rally lost team at the $225 region. It's been a rough year for the security so far, though, which sports a 12.8% deficit in 2022.
Calls have outpaced long puts overall in the last two weeks, but the latter have been picked up at a quicker-than-usual pace of late. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), BIIB's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.87 stands higher than 81% of readings from the last 12 months.
Now may be the perfect opportunity to bet on the security's next move with options. This is per Biogen stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 44%, which stands in the10th percentile of its annual range. This means options traders are pricing in extremely low volatility expectations at the moment.