GLYC Stock Sliced in Half on Disappointing Drug Data

GlycoMimetics' sickle cell disease treatment failed a late-stage study

The shares of GlycoMimetics Inc (NASDAQ:GLYC) have more than halved this morning, down 50.1% at $4.56, afterPfizer (PFE), the company's partner in the trial, announced that the biotech's blood disorder treatment rivipansel did not meet the goal of its late-stage trial in patients with complication of sickle cell disease. The stock is now trading back near its 2017 lows, eyeing its worst day on record.

Negative attention from analysts has no doubt helped pressure the stock even lower. Already, Jefferies has downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "buy," and slashed its price target to $6 from $19, while SunTrust Robinson also downgraded its rating to "hold." Stifel and H.C. Wainwright have followed suit, cutting their target prices to $14 and $18 respectively. The consensus 12-month price target of $12.40 is still roughly triple current levels. GLYC could be susceptible to more downgrades, too, with six "strong buy" ratings on the table.

Even before today's plummet, GLYC had been having some trouble on the charts. After the equity lost steam right below its 320-day trendline last month, it suffered a sharp decline that had it trading right atop the $9 region -- home to its late-December lows -- and right beneath its year-to-date breakeven.

While analysts have remained optimistic on the stock, speculators in the options pits have been notably put-skewed. The security's current Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) comes in at 1.02 and sits in the 97th percentile of its annual range, showing a rare level of interest in short-term put contracts.