| Marathon Digital [MARA] - Last Close: $23.49 Bitcoin miners are getting a boost from Bitcoin’s recent outperformance. BTC prices are up more than 15% over the past month, with prices currently sitting just above the $45K mark, and prices are up 6%+ over the past five days. MARA has gained 71.4% over the past month, despite suffering from a 16.4% pullback in the final trading day of 2023. The stock is also highly shorted, but, right now, it looks like the bulls are eating their lunch. MARA is up 12.8% on over 5 million shares traded this morning. My Take: BTC’s run-up could be a gamechanger for stocks like MARA, and demand for the asset could grow even more if geopolitical tensions continue to rise this year.
Voyager Therapeutics [VYGR] - Last Close: $8.44 This tiny pharma stock just landed a huge windfall in the form of a blockbuster gene therapy deal with Novartis [NVS]. Under the “strategic collaboration and capsid license agreement”, the companies will explore therapies for Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy. The two companies will also collaborate to advance a “preclinical gen therapy candidate” for Huntington’s. Financial details and other specifics weren’t disclosed in the release, but VYGR is a top mover with a 29.8% gain on 1.3 million in trading volume. My Take: VYGR could find new support at the $10 mark if it can hold onto it’s gains, and this stock was trading for $14 less than a year ago, so there could be more upside on the table.
Signing Day Sports [SGN] - Last Close: $1.13 This student athlete scouting platform is rallying on news of a new collaboration with Elite Development Program, or EDP Soccer. Under the collaboration, Signing Day will serve as EDP Soccer’s exclusive recruiting platform provider. Financial details weren’t disclosed, but the deal could provide valuable exposure and attract new customers for the company. SGN is up 31.8% on nearly 4 million shares traded. My Take: SGN has been on a tear lately. It gained 44.8% on Friday despite no obvious news. Today’s rally could be a continuation of that move, since today’s press release seems pretty mundane.
NGM Biopharma [NGM] - Last Close: $0.859
This morning, the tiny biotech confirmed the receipt of an unsolicited non-binding “expression of interest” from private investment firms. The group of suitors is being led by The Column Group, and they want to acquire all outstanding shares of NGM to facilitate a “take private” deal. At the moment, Column and its partners own 26.7% of NGM Biopharma, and the company says it will form a special committee to review the offer. No telling whether this deal will go through, but the market is bullish on the possibility. NGM is up 25.7% on nearly 2 million shares traded. My Take: It’s anyone’s guess where this deal will end up, but, if it goes through, there could be a big tender deal in its future. But, you have to decide if the downside risk is worth the potential reward. Gainers Chicken Soup for The Soul [CSSEL] >> +69.0% Riskon Intl. [ROI] >> +57.5% Cue Health [HLTH] >> +66.8%
Decliners Zoomcar [ZCAR] >> (65.1%) Corcept [CORT] >> (33.1%) China SXT Pharma [SXTC] >> (30.2%) None. S&P final U.S. manufacturing PMI [Dec] ... 9:45aConstruction spending [Nov] ... 10:00a | 