The stock market kicked off the shortened trading week on a positive note, with Wall Street’s major indices finishing in the green following President Donald Trump’s temporary tax reprieve on technology companies.
The S&P 500 recorded the highest gain, up 0.79 percent, while the Dow Jones came second at 0.78 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was also up by 0.64 percent.
Benchmark indices aside, 10 companies dominated by biotechnology firms mirrored the broader market optimism, recording modest gains during the session.
In this article, let us explore Monday’s top 10 gainers and the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we only considered the stocks with $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million trading volume.
White medicinal tablets. Photo by Kaboompics.com
10. Bath and Body Works Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)
Bath and Body Works snapped a two-day losing streak on Monday, gaining 7.55 percent to close at $28.65 each as investors resorted to bargain-hunting, shunning an investment firm’s rating downgrade for the company.
On Monday, JPMorgan reduced its price target for BBWI by 12.8 percent to $41 from $47 previously but maintained its ‘overweight’ rating on the shares. Despite the downgrade, the new price target was still 43 percent higher than the company’s closing price on Monday.
Meanwhile, the overweight rating indicated that the company still has the potential to outperform average market returns.
BBWI forecast annual sales largely below expectations as it grapples with uncertainties in consumer spending due to the US-China trade war.
In other news, BBWI earned an upgraded rating of Overweight from investment firm Piper Sandler, saying that, along with Inter Parfums, it was well-positioned to benefit from the increasing demand in the fragrance category.
9. ADMA Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:ADMA)
ADMA Biologics grew its share prices for a second day on Monday, adding 7.78 percent to finish at $20.91 apiece as investors cheered the company’s business optimism, saying it sees only minimal to no impact from the ongoing trade tensions globally.
In a statement, ADMA President and CEO Adam Grossman underscored the company being a fully US-based firm, with manufacturing operations, market sales, and customer engagements conducted exclusively within the US.
“The tariffs that have been implemented on foreign goods, services, and manufacturing should have no impact on ADMA and its supply chain or production operations,” he said.
“Our strategic infrastructure not only ensures enhanced supply chain robustness, resilience, and regulatory compliance but also aligns with increasing federal and private sector preferences for US-made products and services,” he added.
ADMA Biologics is an end-to-end commercial biopharmaceutical company dedicated to manufacturing, marketing, and developing specialty biologics for treating immunodeficient patients at risk for infection and others at risk for certain infectious diseases.
8. Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE:RKT)
Rocket Companies rose for a second day on Monday, adding 7.98 percent to end at $12.85 apiece, riding an overall market optimism while continuing to digest its recent shopping spree of its counterparts.
Earlier this month, RKT announced that it would acquire home loan provider Mr. Cooper (NASDAQ:COOP) for $9.4 billion in a bid to accelerate its AI-powered platform and remove the friction and complexities plaguing today’s homebuying process.
“Servicing is a critical pillar of homeownership—alongside home search and mortgage origination. With the right data and AI infrastructure, we will deliver the right products at the right time. That’s how we build lifelong relationships, by proactively unlocking benefits and meeting needs before they arise. We look forward to welcoming Mr. Cooper’s nearly 7 million clients,” said RKT CEO Varun Krishna.
Last month, RKT also announced its acquisition of Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) for $1.75 billion. The transaction involved the buyout of shares at a price of $12.50 apiece.
Founded in 2004, RDFN is one of America’s most recognized real estate brands, operating a top-three home search platform with more than 1 million for-sale and rental listings and a tech-powered brokerage of more than 2,200 agents.
7. ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)
ImmunityBio grew for a second day on Monday as investor funds started flocking to stocks with lesser risks from the ongoing trade tensions globally while repositioning portfolios ahead of its Investor Day tomorrow, April 15.
According to the company, it plans to announce in-depth updates about its business operations, key timelines, ongoing clinical trials, and recent research and development advancements.
IBRX is a clinical-stage biotech company developing immune-enhancing therapies for cancer and infectious diseases. It is underway with its global expansion for its novel immunotherapy ANKTIVA, which aims to treat unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer carcinoma in situ (CIS).
Just recently, IBRX submitted a marketing authorization request from the European Medicines Agency for the review and assessment of ANKTIVA. If approved by the EMA, IBRX would be able to sell ANKTIVA in 27 countries in Europe, including Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
6. YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF)
YPF Sociedad Anonima grew its share prices by 10.32 percent on Monday to finish at $33.13 apiece as investor sentiment was boosted by an investment bank’s rating upgrade for the firm.
On Monday, HSBC raised YPF’s price target by 57 percent to $33 from $21 previously, while upgrading its rating to Hold from Reduce.
The price target, however, was 0.39 percent lower than YPF’s closing price on Monday.
According to HSBC, the better outlook was attributed to Argentina’s economy, energy sector, and YPF’s internal restructuring plan.
In particular, HSBC said Argentina’s $20 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the removal of foreign exchange controls have favorably impacted YPF’s funding costs, sparking investor interest in Argentine equities.
YPF is a vertically integrated, state-controlled energy company engaged in oil and gas exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of gas and petroleum products.
5. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)
Viking Therapeutics Inc. saw its share prices jump by 10.58 percent on Monday to finish at $24.57 apiece following news that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) will discontinue the development of its oral obesity medication, danuglipron, amid safety concerns.
According to PFE, the decision came after a patient experienced a potential liver injury linked to the drug.
The scrapped plans, however, spelled good news for VKTX which is similarly underway with the development of an oral weight loss candidate called VK2735, with PFE now out of the competition.
In other news, reports surfaced last month that PFE was set to take over VKTX, and tapped Morgan Stanley as its advisor for the acquisition.
The rumors came days after VKTX released its earnings performance in the fourth quarter of the year, widening its net loss by 44 percent to $35.4 million from the $24.6 million in the same period a year earlier.
Net loss for full-year 2024 also widened by 28 percent to $109.96 million from $85.895 million in 2023.
4. Certara Inc. (NASDAQ:CERT)
Shares of Certara Inc. surged by 11.54 percent on Monday to finish at $14.40 apiece as investors cheered the company’s launch of its Non-Animal Navigator (NAN) solution, supporting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision last week to reduce animal testing in preclinical safety studies.
According to CERT, the NAN is a flexible solution that offers strategic regulatory advice, an integrated preclinical development plan, and an optimized AI-enabled modeling toolkit, all of which would ensure that clients’ development programs “are compliant, agile, and future-ready.”
“The FDA announcement and roadmap pave the way for more model-informed drug development approaches that are predictive, efficient, and ethical,” said CERT Chief Executive Officer William F. Feehery. ”It is part of a growing industry adoption trend to use scientifically robust new approach methodologies (NAMs) like AI-enabled biosimulation to improve strategic decision-making and success rates at every phase of drug development.”
CERT is a company engaged in biosimulation software, technology, and services to transform traditional drug discovery and development. Its clients include more than 2,400 biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and regulatory agencies across 70 countries.
3. Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMT)
Summit Therapeutics extended its winning streak for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, adding 12.44 percent to end at $26.13 each as the company continued to ride the wave in medical stocks on optimism of lesser risks from the ongoing global trade tensions.
In recent news, Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight rating on SMMT following a move by the company’s co-CEO and chairman Bob Duggan to exercise warrants to acquire 4 million SMMT shares.
The transaction was executed nearly four years before the warrants expired at a strike price of $1.58 apiece.
Meanwhile, Truist Securities also gave the company a Buy rating and a price target of $35, representing a 50.6-percent upside from SMMT’s latest closing price.
SMMT is a biopharmaceutical oncology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of medicinal therapies.
2. Newsmax Inc. (NYSE:NMAX)
Newsmax Inc. snapped a six-day losing streak on Monday, adding 13.79 percent to end at $26 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting following a steep drop in its share prices.
Since debuting on the stock market two weeks ago, the company’s stock price has already fallen by 88 percent from its highest price of $233.
Last week’s decline, however, was largely influenced by a Delaware Judge’s ruling against NMAX, saying that it published defamatory and false statements versus Dominion Voting Systems of rigging the 2020 election.
The ruling was a partial victory for Dominion in its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit. A new round of trial is expected to begin on April 28.
In recent news, NMAX announced that its viewership jumped by 50 percent year-on-year to 33.6 million from 22.4 million in the same period last year.
First-quarter ratings this year also saw a healthy 15-percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2024 when 29.3 million viewers tuned in.
1. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)
MP Materials saw its share prices soar by 21.65 percent on Monday to close at $27.59 apiece as investor sentiment was fueled by President Donald Trump’s preparation of an executive order that would permit the stockpiling of critical metals from the Pacific Ocean.
The initiative aims to counter China’s dominance in rare earth supply chains and battery minerals. Last week, the Chinese government moved to halt the exports of rare earth minerals, representing a devastating blow to industries that rely on rare earth minerals for the manufacturing of their products.
MP Materials—the only rare earth mining and processing facility in the US—is set to benefit from the move.
MP Materials (NYSE:MP) produces rare earth materials, a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones, and other electronics. The company is currently one of the largest non-Chinese rare earth miners and processors globally.
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