Roche Holding AG (ROG) will acquire GenMark Diagnostics for $1.8 billion
GenMark Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK) stock is surging today, up 29.1% to trade at $23.88 at last check, after news of its buyout. Specifically, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG (ROG) will acquire GenMark Diagnostics for $1.8 billion in cash. The merger is expected to close within the second quarter of 2021, and will give Roche a boost in the diagnostics department. A downgrade wasn't enough to deter the stock either, after Needham today cut its rating to "hold" from buy."
Starting the week coming off of four straight weekly losses, today's bull gap has GNMK trading at record-breaking levels, earlier hitting $24. Year-over-year, the equity is up an impressive 382.3%.
Though shorts have been running for the exits, per short interest's 40.2% drop during the most recent reporting period, it still represents 7.4% of the stock's available float. In other words, it would take over four days to buy back these bearish bets, at GNMK's average pace of trading.
Options traders have been quick to chime in after today's events, with 7,317 calls and 3,016 puts across the tape so far -- 18 times what's typically seen at this point. The April 25 call is the most popular, followed closely by the March 25 call, with new positions being opened at both. This shows plenty of traders betting on even more upside for GNMK in the coming week and month.
Furthermore, now looks like a good time to weigh in on GenMark Diagnostics stocks next move with options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 100% stands higher than just 7% of all other readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.