March 23, 2026 4:42pm

The market’s move today was about direction; the cereal isn’t noisy but the bombs are

And about oil, relief, volatility, still with skepticism

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

Never leave a retail investor uninformed!  It’s not always time to buy or sell; but it is time to KNOW why!

I write this blog/newsletter to inform investors with facts and supporting numbers focused on what they need to hear that others will not say or write about – facts in evidence!  I’m NOT at all writing a doom-and-gloom predictions as I am more frequently right than consequentially wrong; I am mostly EARLY in my prognostications!

RMi Pre-opening; Futures ascend dramatically! … https://www.regmedinvestors.com/articles/14357

I chose to speak-up when many analysts, brokers and commentators have shut-up!

 

What happened and some of the whys with the numbers behind … it’s NOT always about BUYs/SELLs … it’s about knowing when and what!

Monday: The Dow closed UP +631.12 points or +1.38%, the S&P closed UP +74.52 points or +1.15% while the Nasdaq closed UP +299.149 points or +1.38%

  • Theme of the session: stocks rallied after President Trump said the U.S. and Iran have held talks and that he was halting strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure

Monday’s (my) 40-company covered sector’s advance/decline line opened positive with 32 incliners, 5 decliners and 3 flats, ending with a positive close of 26 incliner, 12 decliners and 2 flats

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

  • The 2-year Treasury note yield <most sensitive to sentiment changes> dropped as low as 3.801% after earlier trading at 4.014% after Trump posted on social media.

The CBOE Fear (VIX) index, Monday closed at 26.46 after topping 30 earlier in the session, following Friday’s 26.78, Thursday’s 24.36, Wednesday’s 24.68, Tuesday’s 22.38 and last Monday’s 12.72

Metrics: Monday …

  • The RUT was up +55.78 points or +2.29%,
  • The XLV was up +0.03 points or +0.02%,
  • The NBI was up +31.09 points or +0.56%;
  • The XBI was up +1.39 points or +1.16%
  • The IWM was up +5.16 or +2.13%;
  • The IBB was up +1.04 points or +0.64%,
  • The VIX was down -0.32 points or -1.19% at to 26.46

 

Q1/26 – March – 7 positive and 9 negative closes

  • February – 1 holiday, 8 negative and 11 positive sessions
  • January – 2 holidays, 2 neutral, 9 negative and 9 positive closes

 

Monday Closing UP (10 of 26)

  • Supernus Therapeutics (SUPN +$1.49 after Friday’s -$1.08),
  • Vericel (VCEL +$1.03 after Friday’s -$1.33),
  • Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT +$1.02 after Friday’s +$0.04),
  • Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR +$1.00 after Friday’s -$2.07),
  • AxoGen (AXGN +$0.97),
  • IQVIA Holdings (IQV +$0.93),
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP +$0.64 after Friday’s -$0.69),
  • Beam Therapeutics (BEAM +$0.54),
  • Lenz Therapeutics (LENZ +$0.52 after Friday’s -$1.01),
  • Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE +$0.40)

Flat (2)

  • Harvard Apparatus RT (OTCQB: HRGN)
  • Generation Bio (GBIO) – acquired

Monday’s Closing DOWN (12 of 12): 

  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -$5.51 after Friday’s +$1.07),
  • Vertex (VRTX -$2.85 after Friday’s -$4.05),
  • BioNTech (BNTX -$0.86),
  • Mesoblast (MESO -$0.34),
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS -$0.20),
  • uniQure NV (QURE -$0.17 after Friday’s +$0.83),
  • Wave Life Sciences (WVE -$0.14),
  • Compass Therapeutics (CMPX -$0.11),
  • Moderna (MRNA -$0.10 after Friday’s -$0.99),
  • Precigen (PGEN -$0.04),
  • Agenus (AGEN -$0.02),
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU -$0.01),

 

The Bottom Line: More of the … WHY

Indexes surged on Monday, shaking off earlier losses as President Trump eased fears of an escalation in the Middle East war by postponing threatened strikes on Iran's power plants.

  • Trump gave Iran an ultimatum on Saturday, saying that if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed after 48 hours, he would order attacks on Iran's power facilities. On Monday, Tehran launched fresh attacks in the region. (Yahoo Finance)

Oil prices dived -0.10%after Trump's post, pulling back from early morning gains.

 

Some good: although pricing was below par …

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE)and French partner Valneva (VALN) said they plan to seek regulatory approval for a Lyme disease vaccine after sharing mixed results from a late-stage trial.

  • A P3 study of their Lyme disease vaccine candidate demonstrated more than 73% efficacy in preventing Lyme disease in people 5 years old and older.
  • The vaccine was well-tolerated, with no safety concerns. The study’s participants received four doses of the experimental vaccine or placebo in regions with high rates of Lyme.
  • However, the vaccine didn’t meet the predetermined statistical criterion in the primary endpoint, in part because there were fewer cases of Lyme than had been expected.
  • PFE said it would still seek approval, given the “clinically meaningful efficacy.” It added that a second prespecified analysis was statistically significant.
  • There are no vaccines or therapies that can prevent Lyme disease on the market, though GSK briefly sold a Lyme vaccine starting in the 1990s until 2002, when the British drugmaker pulled the shot “due to weak demand and public concerns about adverse events,” according to RBC Capital Markets’ Trung Huynh.

 

March – 4th week:

  • 3/23 - Monday closed positive with 26 incliners, 12 decliners and 2 flats

March – 3rd week

  • 3/20 – Friday closed negative with 6 incliner, 33 decliners and 1 flat
  • 3/19 – Thursday closed positive with 20 incliners, 18 decliners and 2 flats
  • 3/18 – Wednesday closed negative with 3 incliner, 35 decliners and 2 flats
  • 3/17 - Tuesday closed positive with 25 incliners, 14 decliners and 1 flat
  • 3/16 - Monday closed positive with 27 incliners, 10 decliners and 3 flats

 

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 – closed end funds” (BUY, SELL, VC and multiple operating roles) with the gray hair and a readership following with real numbers to prove it!

 

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

The top three (3) performing in the session:    Winners

  • Monday: IQIA Holdings (IQV), Vericel (VCEL) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP)
  • Friday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), uniQure NV (QURE) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR)

The worst three (3) in the session: Losers

  • Monday: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), uniQure NV (QURE) and Wave Life Sciences (WVE)
  • Friday: Vertex (VRTX), Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) and Vericel (VCEL)

 

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.