Biotech Catalyst Alert: NKTR, CDTX & WGS Rallying With Big Gains
The biopharmaceuticals space is notorious for sudden, sharp rallies, and for precipitous sell-offs as well. The industry is crowded with names, many of which are tiny firms working toward developing a small number of drug candidates and lacking a means of achieving profitability until one or more of those products make it to market.
As such, there can be a revolving door of healthcare names for investors to watch, and the most talked-about companies are often ones with pending trial data or other major developments on the horizon.
Three such firms Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR), Cidara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTX), and GeneDx Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: WGS) have recently experienced rallies that are likely to put them on healthcare investors' radar. What's more, these companies all have strong votes of confidence from bullish Wall Street analysts as well.
Rezpeg Phase 2b Trial Successes Send Nektar Shares Upward
Nektar develops immunotherapy drug candidates such as rezpegaldesleukin (Rezpeg), a candidate for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, among other conditions. Indeed, one of those other conditions, atopic dermatitis (eczema), has been most notable for Nektar in recent days.
With success on both primary and secondary goals in its recent Phase 2b trial and a Fast Track designation from the FDA, Rezpeg appears poised to help to address eczema for the roughly 10 million patients across the United States facing this condition. Shares rallied after Nektar's announcement of the latest trial results.
Nektar's latest impressive rally began on June 23, 2025, and sent shares more than tripling in value in the span of five trading days. However, it's important to note that the rally already showed signs of faltering in the same week in which it began. Besides that, Nektar's share price at the peak of the rally was just under $30 per share.
This is still dramatically lower than its all-time high of more than $1,500 per share from early 2018, and lower than the price of the stock for essentially all of its trading history up until the last two years. Nonetheless, six out of seven analysts view NKTR as a Buy, with upside potential of about 227% based on a consensus price target of $84.17.
Major Advance in Non-Vaccine Flu Preventative for Cidara
Cidara is known for innovative therapies such as rezafungin acetate, a treatment for invasive fungal infections, and drug-Fc conjugates, or drugs that use human antibody fragments. CDTX shares reached their highest level since spring 2021 in late June, when they climbed by almost 150% in about a week. The spike aligned with the company's positive phase 2b trial results for CD388, a non-vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza.
Investors have long seen CD388 as a key component of Cidara's pipeline, and this latest data, including a noteworthy 76% symptomatic influenza protection rate for 24 weeks for a single 450-milligram dose, indicates that a phase 3 trial is likely not far off. Should CD388 reach the market, it is likely a game-changer for the biopharma space.
CD388 could either aid traditional vaccines or supplant them as a once-per-season preventative for seasonal flu, with a massive potential market.
While analysts are widely bullish on CDTX (all nine rating the stock have assigned it a Buy), investors should note that the company also issued $250 million in new stock the same week as the CD388 announcement in a potentially dilutive move.
Promising Partnership and AAP Guidance, But Other Concerns Remain for GeneDx
GeneDx is known for its Centrellis platform, utilizing AI to conduct genomics-related diagnostics. Investors have had sky-high hopes for the company that have not necessarily come to pass. In fact, despite topping analyst predictions for first-quarter sales by about 10% and raising guidance to suggest at least 30% year-over-year (YOY) revenue gains for FY 2025, WGS shares plummeted by almost 50% around the start of May 2025.
In the last several days of June, the stock surged by nearly 40% to recapture some of that decline.
The latest rally coincided with GeneDx's announcement of a partnership with Galatea Bio to provide genetic testing for common diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and, eventually, hereditary cancers.
It also aligned with updated guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommending exome and genome sequencing as first-tier tests for children with intellectual disability and global developmental delay.
Both of these factors are likely to drive business for GeneDx.
Six out of eight analysts rate WGS a Buy, but investors should beware of its comparably high valuation, a recent and potentially concerning sequential volume decline, and the threat of competitors in the difficult genomic diagnostics space.
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