Biotech stocks Array Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY) and Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN) received some bullish analyst attention this morning, although only one stock is higher at last check. Below, we'll take a closer look at the brokerage notes, and how ARRY and MYGN stocks are reacting.
Array Biopharma stock is up 5% to trade at $17.10, and just touched a new record high of $17.30, as analysts continue to react to encouraging results for the firm's melanoma drug trial. As a result, no fewer than three brokerages issued price-target hikes, including to $23 from $20 at Stifel this morning -- deeper into uncharted territory. Cantor Fitzgerald, meanwhile, hiked its price target to $24 from $15, citing the strong overall survival rate for Array's combination melanoma treatment, saying it "has the potential to be best in class and take a leading market share position."
Array Biopharma stock has tacked on 154% since its May 9 low of $6.73, with recent pullbacks caught by its rising 20-day moving average. A short squeeze could provide more fuel for ARRY's run. The 15.66 million shares sold short represent a healthy 11.5% of the stock's total available float. Going by ARRY's average daily trading volume, it would now take these bears more than four days to buy back their positions.
Myriad Genetics stock is down 3.8% to trade at $34.37, on the heels of the company's fiscal second-quarter earnings report. While shareholders are reacting negatively to earnings, analysts at Deutsche Bank hiked their price target to $37 from $30. Leerink and Jefferies, meanwhile, lifted their targets to $35. Still, the new targets are just a hair from MYGN's current share price, and represent a discount to yesterday's close.
MYGN shares have added 120% year-over-year, and touched an annual high of $41.57 on Jan. 24. Near-term options traders are likely jeering today's drop. In the options pits, Myriad stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.30 is docked below 98% of comparable readings taken in the past year. This low reading suggests that short-term speculators have rarely been more call-skewed toward the stock during the past 12 months.