Savient Pharmaceuticals was falling even before the market plunged, and the bears are hungry for more downside.
optionMONSTER's Depth Charge tracking system detected a surge of put activity in the company, which sells the gout drug Krystexxa. The first trade occurred in the morning, when more than 4,500 September 8 puts were sold for $3.95 to $4 and an equal number of September 4 puts were bought for $0.70 to $0.75.
Volume was below open interest in the higher-strike contracts, indicating that an existing position was rolled down. The transaction let the investor collect a credit of about $3.25 while maintaining exposure to further downside.
A second transaction occurred in the afternoon when an additional 5,000 September 4s were purchased for $0.90, reflecting more bearishness.
SVNT fell 8.43 percent to $4.02 yesterday and is down 64 percent so far this year. It traded over $20 last September and October after putting itself up for sale but then failed to find a buyer and has been falling ever since.
Overall option volume was more than 10 times greater than average in the name yesterday. Puts outnumbered calls by more than 6 to 1, according to the Depth Charge.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
