Moderna Stock Surge Continues as Smaller Health Care Stocks Outperform
Moderna's stock surge is expected to continue into September, making it the second-best performer in the S&P 500. However, five smaller health care stocks have delivered even larger gains this month, driven by various catalysts such as clinical trial results and regulatory reviews.
The top-performing stock among those with a market cap above $100 million is Indaptus Therapeutics (INDP), which has surged about 249% so far in September. This follows a $24 million share sale that may support early research into a sleep-related device. In contrast, Moderna (MRNA) has risen by approximately 39% this month.
Other notable stocks include Cypherpunk Technologies (CYPH), which has seen its Zcash mining operation add 3,023 ZEC to its treasury, and MediciNova (MNOV), whose Phase 2b/3 Combat-ALS trial of MN-166 is nearing completion. GRAIL's Galleri test received a favorable FDA advisory panel vote, while Surrozen submitted an investigational new drug application for SZN-8141.
Moderna's success in its Phase 3 trial with partner Merck has laid the foundation for its rally. However, Chief Development Officer David Berman emphasized that further testing is needed to demonstrate the treatment's potential across various cancers. The company will present detailed results at a European Society for Medical Oncology congress in October.