A lackluster trading persisted throughout the last day of the year, with Wall Street’s main indices ending the day mixed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 0.07 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.43 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.90 percent. Meanwhile, NYSE Composite inched up by 0.10 percent and S&P Composite rose by 0.44 percent.
Despite the lack of catalysts to spark trading, 10 companies–predominantly in the biopharmaceuticals sector–posted impressive gains. Let’s explore the reasons behind their outstanding performance.
To come up with Monday’s top gainers, we considered only the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.
A stock market data. Photo by Alesia Kozik on Pexels
10. Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)
Iovance Biotherapeutics saw its share price during the last trading day of the year rise by 3.21 percent, ending the day at $7.40 apiece.
According to analysts, investors resorted to bargain-hunting after the company fell to a 52-week low of $7.06 on Monday.
The company’s stock price year-to-date also marked an 8.6 percent drop from $8.1 each, with analysts noting that investors were cautious as the company navigates through a complex landscape of clinical trials and regulatory hurdles which has impacted its stock performance.
With a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, the company was also believed to be undervalued.
Iovance Biotherapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that aims to be a global leader in innovating, developing, and delivering tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy for people with cancer.
9. Roivant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:ROIV)
Shares of Roivant Sciences rallied on Wednesday, ending the day up by 3.5 percent at $11.83 each. Year-to-date, the company’s stock price grew by 4.22 percent from the $11.35 registered on January 2, 2024.
While there were no clear catalysts that could perk up its share prices, investors seemed to have snapped up its shares while waiting on the sidelines for the Trump administration’s return to office. Roivant’s co-founder, Vivek Ramaswamy is set to join the incoming administration in a high-profile role, serving as the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), along with technology mogul Elon Musk.
Investors may be anticipating that Ramaswamy’s cabinet appointment could signal a favorable environment for Roivant, particularly in the areas of regulatory reform and government efficiency, which could benefit the industry as a whole.
Roivant is a biotechnology company that works with patents and develops medicines for commercial sales. It owns various subsidiaries including Immunovant, Priovant, Genevant, Pulmovant, Lokavant, Datavant, Covant, Psivant, and Vantai.
8. TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL)
TAL Education finished the year stronger, ending Wednesday’s trading up by 3.73 percent to $10.02 apiece as investors placed bets amid brighter prospects for the education industry under the Trump administration, complemented by better outlook from analysts.
According to a report by Zack Research, the company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.04 per share in its upcoming report, representing a more than 200 percent increase year-on-year. Meanwhile, revenues are expected to settle at $549.71 million, up 47.2 percent from the same period last year.
TAL Education is continuously refining and expanding its learning programs to deliver high-quality educational experiences. The company’s Peiyou small-class offerings, which have been a significant driver of revenue, are being enhanced through standardized lecturing approaches and interactive, student-centric learning experiences.
7. Geron Corp. (NASDAQ:GERN)
Geron Corp. rose for a third day on Wednesday, ending the year stronger by 4.12 percent at $3.54 apiece. Year-to-date, the company eked out gains of 65.4 percent from the $2.14 registered on January 2, 2024.
Based on three continuous days of rally, investors resorted to buying while waiting for fresh developments about its business updates.
Just recently, the company announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of its drug Rytelo for treating specific types of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
The recommendation is expected to be endorsed by the European Commission, with a final decision on market authorization expected in the coming months.
Geron Corporation is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutics for myeloid hematologic malignancies. The company’s lead product, Imetelstat, effectively treats MDS and myelofibrosis (MF). Consequently, the company is well-positioned to be a key player in the oncology market.
6. Baytex Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTE)
Canada-based Baytex Energy Corp. registered a 4.88-percent increase in its share prices on Wednesday, ending the year at $2.58 apiece following news that the company was able to raise $42 million following the successful sale of its Kerrobert thermal asset in southwest Saskatchewan.
In a news release, the company said production from the asset is approximately 2,000 barrels per day (bpd) consisting of 100 percent heavy oil.
“The non-core disposition further streamlines our portfolio and the net proceeds from the sale will be applied against outstanding bank indebtedness,” the company said, adding that the sale is not expected to meaningfully impact its exploration and development expenditures or free cash flow profile for 2025.
Earlier last month, the company’s board of directors gave the green light to budget as much as $1.3 billion for 2025 exploration and development expenditures, targeting to generate average annual production of 150,000 to 154,000 bpd.
5. Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)
Shares of Moderna closed the year on a strong note, rallying by 5.59 percent at $41.58 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting after analysts regarded the company’s valuation as “too cheap.”
Year-to-date price, however, marked a 63.04-percent nosedive from the $41.58 booked on January 2, 2024, as the company continued to face a slew of challenges with the continuous lower demand for Covid-19 vaccines.
Earlier last year, the vaccine maker announced plans to slash its research and development budget to conserve cash for product launches, but after a year of consistent stock price decline, analysts remained skeptical.
In other news, the company announced strengthening its partnership with Merck to purchase $50 million of Personalis common stock, which covers a multi-year extension with Moderna to utilize Personalis’ ImmunoID NeXT Platform and technology for V940/mRNA-4157, an investigational individualized neoantigen therapy that both firms are developing.
4. Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE:MPW)
Shares in Medical Properties grew by 6.18 percent on Wednesday, ending 2024 higher at $3.95 each. However, year-to-date shares marked a 22 percent decline from $5.06 apiece.
According to analysts, the upcoming release of the company’s earnings sparked investor appetite, with net sales expected to more than triple to $217.15 million and full-year revenues at $980.85 million.
In terms of valuation, Medical Properties is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 4.84 which indicates a discount as compared with the average Forward P/E of 11.8 of its industry.
Medical Properties is an American real estate investment trust company that mainly invests in healthcare facilities subject to NNN leases.
3. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF)
Shares of TeraWulf rose by 6.39 percent on Wednesday to end at $5.66 apiece as investors placed bets on the company following Monday’s decline.
Year-to-date, the company’s stock price posted an astonishing 146-percent gain from the $2.3 recorded on January 2, 2024.
TeraWulf has also been one of the most widely traded companies in the stock market last year and analysts believe that the Bitcoin miner will be able to continue its strong momentum towards 2025.
Last week, the company announced that it would lease over 70 megawatts of data center infrastructure to AI and cloud provider Core42 to expand its artificial intelligence revenue as it struggles with the rising Bitcoin mining costs.
“The data center leases reflect TeraWulf’s strategic extension into AI-driven computing, complementing its profitable Bitcoin mining operations,” TeraWulf said.
2. United States Steel Corp. (NYSE:X)
Shares in United States Steel saw a significant jump in share prices, ending the year higher by 9.54 percent following news that it is set to be acquired by Japanese company Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion, pending approval of outgoing president Joe Biden. Investors warmly welcomed the news that its price spiked by 9.89 percent in just 15 minutes at intraday trading.
The revised proposal by Nippon Steel included a provision granting veto power to the federal government over any reduction in production capacity, should the acquisition secure approvals.
According to reports, the acquisition plan remains under review due to national security concerns from the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Year-to-date, United States Steel’s share prices marked a 29-percent decline from $47.96 each.
1. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD)
Shares in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals increased by 9.95 percent on Wednesday, finishing the year higher at $18.35 apiece following news that it is set to join the S&P SmallCap 600 effective Friday, January 3, 2025, replacing Independent Bank Group Inc.
The S&P 600 is a stock market index tracking the performance of 600 small-cap companies in the US. It is designed to be a reliable benchmark for investors and traders and represents about 3 percent of the US market.
Year-to-date, however, registered a plunge of 40 percent from its valuation a year ago.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in innovative treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders including Parkinson’s disease psychosis, Alzheimer ’s-related psychosis, schizophrenia, and Rett syndrome.
It owns NUPLAZID, an FDA-approved treatment for Parkinson’s psychosis. Acadia’s robust research and development pipeline focuses on the growing needs in neurology and psychiatry.
While we acknowledge the potential of ACAD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ACAD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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