Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB)

iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 70,278 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 739% compared to the average daily volume of 8,380 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBB. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 22.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 50,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Biotechnology ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares Biotechnology ETF by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.45% of the company’s stock.

iShares Biotechnology ETF Price Performance

iShares Biotechnology ETF stock opened at $135.63 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.83. iShares Biotechnology ETF has a 1 year low of $111.83 and a 1 year high of $141.16.

iShares Biotechnology ETF Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.126 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st.

iShares Biotechnology ETF Company Profile

iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (the Index). The Index contains securities of NASDAQ listed companies that are classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either biotechnology or pharmaceuticals, which also meet other eligibility criteria determined by NASDAQ.