High Hopes on Ariad (ARIA, MRK)
Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) is seeing elevated trading today after a presentation and ahead of earnings. The difference here is that Ariad’s increased trading is in both the stock and in the bonds.
Joe Kunkle of OptionsHawk.com noted, “implied volatility is 10% higher to 87.8% as shares gain 2.7%, 4,140 calls trading, 4X average, with buyers of April $3 and May $3.50 calls. Shares are at 52 week highs and breaking a long term downtrend, trading as high as $7.50 in 2005. The Company is expected to announce earnings on March 16th and presented at the Cowen Healthcare Conf. This morning. Ariad’s leukemia drug recently received orphan drug status adn is expected to announce Phase 3 results for its soft tissue and bone sarcoma drug, ridaforolimus. Ariad has a $1B+ collaboration agreement with Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), potentially making it a takeover target.” (NOON EST)
Ariad’s shares are higher by 4.4% at $3.09 on over 3 million shares with more than an hour to the close. Average volume is only about 1.7 million shares per day and the 52-week trading range is $1.15 to $3.48. Today’s added gain may be as there was another biotech merger as well.
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Contribution from optionshawk.com
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