iShares Biotechnology ETF Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:IBB)

iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,365 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 284% compared to the typical volume of 2,439 put options.

Institutional Trading of iShares Biotechnology ETF

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IBB. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 5,242,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,992 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 313.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,915,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451,820 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 286.2% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 994,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,810,000 after purchasing an additional 736,881 shares in the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC bought a new stake in iShares Biotechnology ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,276,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in iShares Biotechnology ETF by 2,239.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 642,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,354,000 after purchasing an additional 614,582 shares in the last quarter. 62.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

iShares Biotechnology ETF Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:IBB traded up $2.79 on Wednesday, reaching $171.29. 321,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,830,372. iShares Biotechnology ETF has a 12 month low of $107.43 and a 12 month high of $179.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.67.

iShares Biotechnology ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.1218 per share. This represents a $0.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th.

About iShares Biotechnology ETF

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.