Meme stocks are all over the place as traders fuss over where to focus buying efforts, and Biogen’s Aduhelm drug can’t find support even in hospitals. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos is flying to space with the youngest astronaut in history. So what did the stock market do today?
- The S&P 500 closed down 0.33%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.15%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.70%
So what else did the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.
What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Meme Stocks Made Moves.
Meme stocks have been taking quite the beating this week. It seems like AMC (NYSE:AMC) and GameStop (NYSE:GME) couldn’t catch a break as selloffs appeared to take place. For the most part, things are looking interesting for the highly volatile class of stocks as some closed in the green while others stacked losses.
GameStop didn’t see a rescue team today. The cards were stacked against it from the opening whistle, as it came to light that Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) would be stepping on its toes within the video game space. The movie-streaming service is hiring Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) ex-pat Mike Verdu to head its game-streaming sect. The news is bad enough to keep GME stock in the red for the day, as it pared losses of 2.5%.
Meanwhile, other meme stocks began to hit their strides once again. After faring some unfortunate past days of price drilling, AMC is turning back around. Investors swarmed to AMC stock, trading well over 20 million shares above the company’s daily trading volume. As such, the movie theater chain was able to post gains of nearly 6%. Context Logic (NASDAQ:WISH) was propped up over 3% as well, bringing it back up toward last week’s highs.
Other major plays are seeing losses as it appears that investors are focusing their efforts in some stocks and less so in others. For example, Clover Health (NASDAQ:CLOV) traded downward today in large part to a severe lack of trading volume necessary to keep these meme stocks up in value. The company tumbled 4.5% with only 28 million shares traded against its daily average of 61 million.
Biogen’s Aduhelm Drug Can’t Convince Hospitals, Even With FDA Approval
Biogen traded for a loss today thanks to some news about its controversial Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. The drug, green-lit by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amid huge controversy from the medical community, is being banned from use within the walls of two major American hospitals.
The Cleveland Clinic and Mount Sinai, premier hospitals in northeast Ohio and New York City, respectively, are refraining from the use of Aduhelm in treating patients suffering from Alzheimer’s. The pair of healthcare centers both say they are waiting for further data on the efficacy of the drug before they make a decision to adopt it into practice.
Biogen is behind two studies of the Aduhelm drug, neither of which saw any conclusive end. The studies obviously are seeing controversy because of this, with scholarly papers directly refuting the efficacy of the drug.
The Aduhelm drug treatment saw approval from the FDA at the beginning of June. The decision is controversial even still; medical experts say Biogen’s trials are not conclusive enough to warrant approval. In fact, the FDA saw a series of three resignations in response to Aduhelm’s approval.
Newly reinvigorated critics are slamming the drug in response to the news out of Ohio and New York. Dr. Reshma Ramachandran of Yale University is taking to Yahoo News today to voice displeasure in the decision once again. Ramachandran is saying the FDA “abandoned its responsibility” in allowing the drug to reach the market.
Even FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock admits the body dropped the ball on approval. Woodcock says the administration could have gone about the approval in a way that would have “decreased the amount of controversy involved.”
What Else We’re Watching
- Interest in Jeff Bezos’ flight into space with Blue Origin is heating up as we get closer to the date. Today, we are finding out that an 18-year-old student will be occupying the seat of the anonymous ticket buyer for the first flight. The short flight will make the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder the second billionaire in space.
- Cannabis stocks largely pared losses today, as Senator Chuck Schumer unveiled Democrats’ big federal marijuana legalization proposal. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act could be the key to unlock federally legal cannabis. However, it seems like jaded investors need convincing of the bill’s ability to pass.
- If you’re a proud Chevy Bolt owner, you better refrain from parking in the garage near your workplace. Chevrolet is advising drivers to keep their cars outside, as it turns out they can catch fire shortly after being charged. Turns out they are combustion engine vehicles, after all.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
