Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was last seen up 2.4% at $272.31, and earlier hit a record high of $274.90, after the healthcare giant agreed to pay $5.5 billion to settle roughly 76,000 remaining U.S. lawsuits alleging its talc products caused ovarian cancer.
The proposed agreement covers the remaining ovarian talc litigation in federal multidistrict proceedings and related state court cases, though it is contingent on participation from plaintiff firms representing at least 95% of the outstanding claims. On track for a sixth-straight gain, the equity is up 30.5% year to date.
Options traders have shown a strong preference for calls during this run. JNJ's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.27 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 99% of annual readings, while its 10-day call/put ratio of 3.75 also sits in the 99th percentile.
Meanwhile, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 81 out of 100 indicates the shares have consistently exceeded options traders' volatility expectations over the past year.
