Skip to main content

I'm Tuning Up a Trade in This Small-Cap Biotech Stock

Here's an options play in this U.K.-based company.
  • Author:
  • Publish date:
Comments

The large drop in interest rates over the past 10 weeks have bolstered just about every risk asset over the past two and a half months. This includes the small biotech sector, which was significantly underwater for the year when this rally started, but now we will salvage the year with an approximate 10% gain in 2023.

The rally in the sector has left many small biotech stocks I follow at least in "fairly valued" territory. Bicycle Therapeutics (BCYC) is a new addition to my portfolio as of this week, via some covered-orders. The company is based in Cambridge, England, and has a location in Cambridge, Massachusetts, too. It is focused on focused on developing medicines for underserved and rare diseases. There is a lot to like about the company and its longer-term prospects.

Image placeholder title

Bicycle Therapeutics has a unique development approach that it says could produce "precision-guided therapeutics, to penetrate deep into tissues and target intractable cancers."

The so-called "bicyclic" technology has drawn the attention of a couple of large drug makers this year as both Novartis (NVS) and Bayer (BAYRY) inked significant collaboration deals with Bicycle Therapeutics within weeks of each other earlier this year. These agreements put $100 million into the company's coffers immediately and could mean billions more in regulatory and developmental milestone payouts in the years ahead if development proves successful.

The company is also advancing its lead candidate called BT8009 against metastatic urothelial cancer. The Food and Drug Administration signed off on the plans for a mid-late stage registrational study for BT8009 in September and Bicycle Therapeutics is working with the government agency on the design of this study currently. This progress had made the analyst community much more bullish on Bicycle's prospects in recent months and the median analyst firm price target is now more than twice the trading levels of the stock.

The company took care of its medium-term funding needs this summer with a capital raise. The company is sitting on north of $550 million worth of cash and marketable securities as of the end of the third quarter. Bicycle's market capitalization is only approximately $800 million it should be noted. Summing it all up and the risk/reward profile of Bicycle are compelling at current levels and I can make that profile even more attractive with the following covered call trade.

Option Strategy:

Here is how I opened a new position in BCYC this week using a covered-call strategy. Selecting the June $17.50 call strikes, slightly below the current trading levels of the stock, fashion a covered call order with a net debit in the $13.70 to $14.10 a share range (net stock price - option premium). This strategy provides downside protection of approximately 22%. This strategy also has 25% potential upside if the stock drifts down a bit during the just less than six-month option duration.

At the time of publication, Jensen was long BCYC.