December 4, 2025 5:11pm

Financing: Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR -$4.56 or -15.22 to $25.40) proposed a share offering with the usual underwriters a 30-day option to purchase equal to 15% of the aggregate number of shares. NO pricing numbers with Piper Sandler and Oppenheimer & Co. are acting as the joint book-running managers. Question, what are they hiding and what and where is the clinical data to substantiate offering? Question, I SMELL an up pricing "scam", after Wednesday's +$23.60 per share "sprint"?

News: UniQure NV (QURE -$2.74 or -10.75% to $22.74) plunged after the FDA said it doesn't have enough evidence for a Huntington's approval. The FDA conveyed that data submitted from the P1/2 studies of AMT-130 are currently unlikely to provide the primary evidence to support a BLA submission. QURE is carefully evaluating the feedback and plans to urgently request a follow-up meeting with the FDA to take place in Q1/26.

RMi collects, curates, interprets and disseminates cell and gene therapy sector (C&GT) fact-based news, trusted and verified intel and share pricing data to bridge the gap to an investment decision

It’s not always time to buy or sell; but it is time to KNOW and why!

Never leave an investor uninformed! 

Initial unemployment filings unexpectedly tumbled last week to the lowest level in more than 3 years. A sigh of relief as investors overlooked the latest weekly jobless claims

Thursday’s RMi Pre-opening Bell: NONE, my turn with DR this a.m., in a closer distance … still hours waiting, “relatively” positive results, further follow-up needed … as usual!

The peril facing the cell and gene therapy (C&GT) sector’s share pricing isn’t just applications of macro or even micro econs, sentiment or algorithms within electronic trading; it’s losing highly reliable, accurate and transparent data.

 

Thursday: The Dow closed DOWN -31.96 points or -0.07%, the S&P closed UP +7.40 points or +0.11% while the Nasdaq closed UP +51.044 points or +0.22%

  • Theme of the session: waiting for next week’s Fed rate decision?

Thursday’s (my) 40-company covered sector’s advance/decline line opened positive with 25 incliners, 13 decliners and 2 flats ending with a positive close of 26 incliners, 12 decliners and 2 flats

  • Indexes “swarmed” along with the C&GT sector

Henry’omics: We need to more than consider the macro-economic environment to comprehend the micro re “our” universe of cell and gene therapy (C&GT) sector

  • Jobless claims numbers that showed new applications for unemployment insurance at their lowest level since Sept. 2022. Jobless claims for the week ended 11/29 totaled a seasonally adjusted 191,000, down 27,000 from the prior period and below the consensus estimate for 220,000.
  • Job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing announced job cuts in November from U.S. employers moved further ahead of 1 M for the year as corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence and tariffs helped pare job rolls. Yesterday, numbers from ADP revealed a surprising slump in private payrolls.

The C&GT sector closed positive again while the CBOE Fear (VIX) index closing at 15.79 after Wednesday’s 16.08, Tuesday’s 16.57, Monday’s 17.34, Friday’s 16.35, and last Thursday’s holiday

Metrics:  Thursday …

  • The RUT was up +19.02 points or +0.76%,
  • The XLV was down -1.18 points or -0.76%,
  • The NBI was up +0.14 points or +0.00%;
  • The XBI was up +1.42 points or +1.17%
  • The IWM was up +2.22 or +0.89%;
  • The IBB was down -0.12 points or -0.07%,
  • The VIX was down -0.29 points or -1.89% at to 15.79

 

Q4 – December – 2 positive and 2 negative closes

  • November – 1 holiday, 8 positive and 11 negative closes
  • October -1 neutral, 11 positive and 12 negative closes

 

Thursday Closing UP (10 of 26) 

  • AxoGen (AXGN +$4.52),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$2.19 after Wednesday’s +$4.41 after Tuesday’s -$0.59 and Monday’s -$1.30),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$2.17 after Wednesday’s +$3.37 after Tuesday’s -$0.68 and Monday’s -$1.28),
  • Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT +$0.98 after Wednesday’s +$1.37 after Tuesday’s +$0.75 and Monday’s -$1.62),
  • Solid Biosciences (SLDB +$0.73),
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA +$0.68)
  • Wave Life Sciences (WVE +$0.48),
  • Moderna (MRNA +$0.34 after Wednesday’s +$1.12),
  • Supernus Therapeutics (SUPN +$0.34)
  • BioLife Solutions (BLFS +$0.32)

Flat (2)

  • Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM)
  • Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI $0.00 after Wednesday’s -$0.02 after Tuesday’s +$0.0210),

Thursday’s Closing DOWN (12 of 12): -$ after Wednesday’s

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$7.71 after Wednesday’s +$8.36 after Tuesday’s +$10.37 and Monday’s +$3.33),
  • Vertex (VRTX -$6.01 after Wednesday’s +$29.98 after Tuesday’s +$7.55 and Monday’s -$8.01),
  • Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR -$4.46 after Wednesday’s +$23.60),
  • IQVIA Holdings (IQV -$2.73 after Wednesday’s +$1.61 after Tuesday’s -$2.81 and Monday’s -$1.52),
  • uniQure NV (QURE -$2.39),
  • Arrowhead Pharma (ARWR -$0.76 after Wednesday’s +$7.12 after Tuesday’s +$1.70 and Monday’s +$3.55),
  • BioNTech (BNTX -$0.72),
  • Vericel (VCEL -$0.67),
  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ -$0.18),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$),
  • MiMedx (MDXG -$0.14),
  • Agenus (AGEN -$0.09)

 

The Bottom Line: More of the … WHYs

Indexes closed mixed on Thursday digesting jobs data, with traders accepting “current” expectations that the Fed will deliver a December rate cut.

  • As treasury yields climbed after fresh labor market data helped solidify bets that the Fed will cut at its meeting next week.

Most C&GT sector equities popped again Thursday after Wednesday ++ following “taking a licking” on Tuesday and Monday’s.

  • Take it a session at a time … the REAL question is … how long will this sentiment and conviction “run” last?

 

“Uncle algo and his electronic trading dwarfs” are smelling profit!!

 

A real positive:

  • “Mortgage rates dropped slightly this week despite some volatility in the Treasury yields they closely track.
  • The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.19% for the week through Wednesday, down from 6.23% a week earlier. The average 15-year mortgage rate was 5.54%, from 5.51%.

A question does NOT answer an inquiry; investors need more than a few catalysts that could revive a rally, I do NOT expect end end-of-year flurry!

  • Depleted market valuations and the uncertain payoff from heavy spending as we get closer to 2025 ends and then coming Q4 and FY25 financial and achievement results

 

This December week:

  • 12/4 – Thursday closed positive with 26 positive, 12 negative and 2 flats
  • 12/3 – Wednesday closed positive with 35 positive, 4 negative and 1 flat
  • 12/2 - Tuesday closed negative with 10 positive, 29 negative and 1 flat
  • 12/1 – Monday closed negative with 5 positive, 31 negative and 0 flat

Last week, November:

  • 11/28 - Friday closed positive with 29 positive, 10 negative and 1 flat
  • 11/27 – Thursday, a market holiday
  • 11/26 – Wednesday closed positive with 28 positive, 12 negative and 0 flat
  • 11/25 – Tuesday closed positive with 24 positive, 15 negative and 1 flat
  • 11/24 - Monday closed positive with 25 positive, 14 negative and 1 flat

 

A week that will be:

  • September's long-delayed Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index reading drops Friday. This is the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge.
  • Labor data remains key, and the ADP private jobs report is due Wednesday followed by weekly jobless claims Thursday.

As the leading voice of cell and gene therapy investors; I am NOT always a doom and gloom analyst/journalist but a man who has been “there” (BUY, SELL, VC and multiple operating roles) with the gray hair and a readership following with real numbers to prove it!

A real question, are cell and gene therapy (C&GT) sector companies with high insider ownership present … opportunity?

  • Do they often demonstrate alignment between management and shareholder interests … a critical factor in navigating volatile market conditions?
  • I will be looking into this …! Stay tuned.

Welcome to my world of defining the “grey’ in our universe!

  • I am more frequently right than consequentially wrong; if I wanted to be liked, I wouldn’t have been an analyst/journalist.
  • I hate to be so negative or contrarian but, this is a NO spin zone and facts and truth are its products; I can always be WRONG but, I am mostly EARLY!

 

Why do I keep repeating, framed in a different para, so investors can make the connection

The top three (3) performing in the session:   

  • Thursday: AxoGen (AXGN), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and Beam Therapeutics (BEAM)
  • Wednesday: Vertex (VRTX), Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)
  • Tuesday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Vertex (VRTX) and Arrowhead Pharma (ARWR)
  • Monday: Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) and Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM)

The worst three (3) in the session:

  • Thursday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), Vertex (VRTX) and Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR)
  • Wednesday: Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN), Vericel (VCEL) and Cellectis SA (CLLS)
  • Tuesday: Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ), IQVIA Holdings (IQV) and BioNTech (BNTX)
  • Monday: Vertex (VRTX), BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA)

 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change, and not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, nor investment advice. Whether information or intelligence is good, bad, or somewhere in between; I put into context what is relevant and useful for investors.  All investments are subject to risks. Investors should consider investment objectives.

Henry McCusker, the editor, and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication. Regulation Analyst Certification (Reg AC):

The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this report certifies the following under Reg AC: I hereby certify that all views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject company or companies and it’s or their securities. I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.