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Moderna (MRNA) posts the biggest one-day S&P 500 gain this century. (00:14) Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) rally triggered a record short squeeze. (01:35) The next AirPods (AAPL) could see the world around you. (02:40)
This is an abridged transcript.
Moderna (MRNA) nearly tripled on Wednesday, jumping 176.97% to $174.38. This marked the largest one-day gain by any S&P 500 stock this century.
The rally followed positive late-stage results for Moderna’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine developed with Merck (MRK), though the clinical results themselves have already been widely covered.
The move added about $44B to Moderna’s market cap, taking it to $69.6B, while pushing the stock’s year-to-date gain to 491%.
Moderna is now the second-best-performing S&P 500 stock this year, trailing only memory-chip maker Sandisk (SNDK), which has gained 560.9%.
The magnitude of the rally was reflected on social media, with market commentator Mike Zaccardi posting on X: “My dad just texted me saying they cured cancer, and I should buy as much $MRNA as I can.”
Despite the breakthrough, Seeking Alpha analyst Edmund Ingham maintained a Hold rating, urging caution until the full Phase 3 data is released and the regulatory path becomes clearer.
Moderna shares are down 11% in premarket action.
Short sellers lost nearly $2.7B in 24 hours as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged toward $70,000, marking the largest wave of forced short liquidations in records dating back to 2021.
According to CoinGlass, total crypto liquidations reached nearly $3B across 170,332 traders. Short positions accounted for about 92% of the liquidations, or roughly $2.74B, compared with $255M on the long side.
The scale of the short squeeze stands out even against last October’s historic crypto selloff. On Oct. 10, 2025, Bitcoin plunged after reaching a record above $126,000, triggering $19B in liquidations, the largest single-day deleveraging event in crypto history. Shorts accounted for $2.47B of that total.
As of the time of this recording, Bitcoin is up 3.3% and above $71.5K.
Apple (AAPL) is still targeting to launch its camera-equipped AirPods next year despite a video leak of the product.
This week, a developer version of a Mac software update accidentally included references to unreleased Apple (AAPL) products, including upcoming AirPods, iPhones and home devices, reported by MacRumors.
It featured a short video clip showing a man wearing the upcoming AirPods and holding up a book for Visual Intelligence to see its title. Visual Intelligence is an AI tool that lets users analyze real-world surroundings using a device’s camera.
The iPhone maker planned to introduce the new AirPods this year but the company postponed the product until 2027 due to supply chain and software snags.
What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha:
Trump declares ‘Economic D-Day’ on Iran; Tehran says U.S. in ‘crisis’
Tentative trade deal would cut Canada steel, aluminum tariffs by half – reports
Treasury’s buyback expansion is not QE
Catalyst watch:
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Sun Communities (SUI) will replace Webster Financial (WBS) in the S&P MidCap 400 before the opening of trading.
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Walmart (WMT) will hold its earnings call at 7am. Key topics will include the interaction between tariff refunds and price reinvestment. Notably, Walmart has beat EPS estimates in 15 of the last 16 quarters. Options trading implies a 5% share price move after the report is released. While Costco (COST), Pricesmart (PSMT), and Five Below (FIVE) are the stocks that traditionally correlate the tightest with Walmart (WMT) on earnings day, management’s comments on the impact of cyclospora could impact grocery stocks such as Kroger (KR) and Albertsons (ACI). Major suppliers to Walmart that derive more than 30% of their revenue from the retail giant include Symbotic (SYM), Crown Craft (CRWS), JAKKS Pacific (JAKK), and J.M. Smucker (SJM).
Stock index futures are in the red.
Crude oil is up 2.4% at $86. Brent crude is up 2.5% at $93.
The FTSE 100 is down 0.2% and the DAX is down 0.5%.
One stock on the biggest movers list: Wolfspeed (WOLF) -10% – Shares plunged after the silicon carbide manufacturer reported a wider-than-expected FQ4 adjusted loss of $2.26 per share, versus the $1.47 consensus, while revenue rose 24% Y/Y to $149.6M, roughly in line with estimates.
Economic calendar:
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