Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's drug is getting the job done
The shares of Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) are enjoying tailwinds from positive news surrounding sector peer Eli Lilly's (LLY) Alzheimer's drug donanemab. Biogen last week reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street's expectations, and recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization for its ALS treatment drug Qalsody.
The stock was last seen 1.8% higher to trade at $314.96, and earlier touched a nearly two-year high of $316.69. BIIB's post-earnings pullback was saved by the $275 level and the 50-day moving average, and it's now up 51.9% over the last 12 months with a 12.8% year-to-date gain to boot.
Options traders are chiming in at triple the volume that's normally seen at this point. So far, 893 calls and 330 puts have crossed the tape. The most popular is the weekly 5/5 310-strike call.
Mizuho is also bullish, raising its price target to $340 from $315. Coming into today, 20 of 27 covering brokerages rated Biogen stock a "buy" or better, while the 12-month average target price of $328.93 is a 5.2% premium to its current perch.