Incyte Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:INCY)

Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 7,551 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,314% compared to the average volume of 534 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Incyte from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $94.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Incyte from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Incyte from $103.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $123.00 price target on Incyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Incyte in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Pablo J. Cagnoni sold 18,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.50, for a total value of $1,801,365.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 262,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,349,778. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 16.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Incyte

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INCY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Incyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,893,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Incyte by 264.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,498,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $127,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,091 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Incyte by 6,586.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,072,491 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $105,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,451 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Incyte by 3,406.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 739,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,028,000 after purchasing an additional 718,294 shares during the period. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Incyte in the first quarter valued at $60,817,000. 96.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Incyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INCY remained flat at $116.86 during midday trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 2,629,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,258. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.60 and a current ratio of 3.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $100.73 and its 200 day moving average is $99.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76. Incyte has a twelve month low of $66.85 and a twelve month high of $118.69.

Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Incyte had a return on equity of 26.66% and a net margin of 26.71%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Incyte will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Incyte

Incyte Corporation is a Wilmington, Delaware–based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies in oncology and inflammation. Since its founding in 2002, Incyte has grown from a small research organization into a global enterprise, advancing a portfolio of internally developed and partnered assets. The company’s research and development efforts center on small-molecule drugs and biologics that modulate critical signaling pathways implicated in cancer, autoimmune disorders and rare diseases.

The company’s flagship product is Jakafi® (ruxolitinib), a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera.