U.S. Stocks Leaderboard: 1260% Surge in 4 Months! Cancer Drug Stock SMMT Soars 20%

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1%, up 17% year-to-date; the S&P 500 Index rose 0.75%, up 17.3% year-to-date; and the Dow Jones Index rose 0.58%, up 9% year-to-date.

Netgear (NTGR) rose 30.82%, with a trading volume of $68.339 million, up 42.9% year-to-date.

Wi-Fi system, router, and switch manufacturer Netgear stated on Wednesday that it expects quarterly revenue for the period ending September 29 to be between $170 million and $180 million, higher than the previous forecast of $160 million to $175 million. The reason is that the launch of its latest 5G hotspot was earlier than expected, and the patent dispute with TP-Link Systems has been resolved. In response, Raymond James maintained a Buy rating on Netgear and raised the target price from $15 to $22.

Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) rose 20.75%, with a trading volume of $580 million, up 950.2% year-to-date.

The stock has been surging continuously, up 123% this week through Thursday, and has skyrocketed 1260% since the end of May!

Summit raised $235 million from top biotech investors to advance the progress of its new drug.

Previously, clinical data released by Summit showed that compared to Merck's (MRK) blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, Summit's bispecific antibody Ivonescimab (PD-1/VEGF bispecific) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 49% in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Citi praised this data in a new report and recommended Summit as a top pick. The new data also pushed the drug developer's stock up 56% on Monday, while Merck fell 4%. Citi analysts stated that Summit's candidate drug "decisively beat" Keytruda and exceeded "almost all clinical expectations" of the current "standard immunotherapy" Keytruda, indicating it as a promising emerging blockbuster drug. Citi raised the stock's target price from $13 to $19 and said that due to the positive data and investor enthusiasm, Summit is expected to continue rising.

As Merck's revenue pillar, Keytruda has not only pioneered a new era of tumor immunotherapy but also become a cornerstone of cancer treatment, gradually growing into one of the highest-selling drugs globally. In the first half of 2024, Keytruda's global sales reached $14.2 billion, and it is expected to surpass $30 billion for the full year, accounting for 45% of Merck's total revenue.

Coeur Mining (CDE) rose 19.13%, with a trading volume of $110 million, up 110.1% year-to-date.

Gold prices soared to new highs again! Gold stocks collectively rose. Comex gold September futures closed up 1.5% to $2551 per ounce, a record high and the largest one-day dollar and percentage gain since August 16.

Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, said: "A series of factors, including the ECB rate cut, a slight increase in U.S. initial jobless claims last week, and PPI data, were enough to push gold prices to record highs." Phillip Streible, a strategist at Blue Line Futures, also stated: "The job market remains weak. If the job market deteriorates, the rate-cut journey will last a long time."