Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Call Options (NYSE:TEVA)

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 39,816 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 85% compared to the typical volume of 21,570 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on TEVA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.67.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TEVA traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.57. 9,728,120 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,236,628. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has a 1-year low of $9.35 and a 1-year high of $19.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

In related news, EVP Christine Fox sold 19,388 shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.87, for a total value of $327,075.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,104 shares in the company, valued at $744,034.48. This trade represents a 30.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the first quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 555.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares during the last quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA purchased a new position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 2,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. 54.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, Israel, and internationally. It offers generic medicines in various dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams; sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in parenteral and solid dosage forms; and generic products with medical devices and combination products.