SLS, IBRX Stocks Climb Overnight: Retail Eyes Moderna’s Rally As MRNA Lands A Nasdaq-100 Spot

Moderna will replace Warner Bros. Discovery in the Nasdaq-100 before markets open on Oct.9.

• SLS investors compared Sellas’ potential with Moderna’s rally, with one saying, “It will be SLS next.”
• IBRX traders weighed ImmunityBio against Moderna and AbCellera, while one questioned whether IBRX was “ready for primetime yet.”
• Anktiva is approved or authorized across 34 countries, with an FDA decision on a U.S. bladder-cancer label expansion expected by Jan.6, 2027.

Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) and ImmunityBio (IBRX) drew fresh retail attention on Friday as Moderna’s upcoming Nasdaq-100 inclusion sharpened comparisons between the biotech stocks and their cancer-treatment prospects.

Nasdaq announced after Thursday’s close that Moderna (MRNA) will replace Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) before markets open on Oct.9. MRNA has surged 541% year to date, making it the S&P 500’s second-best-performing stock, while SLS has gained 201% and IBRX has climbed 369%. SLS and IBRX are up 0.1% and 0.4% in overnight trading respectively. 

Moderna’s Rally Fuels SLS And IBRX Comparisons

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘bearish’ for MRNA amid ‘high’ message volume and ‘bearish’ for SLS amid ‘normal’ message volume, while IBRX sentiment was ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume. 

One bullish user shared the Nasdaq-100 announcement on Sellas’ feed, saying, “Interesting.” Other SLS users viewed Moderna’s rally as an example of how clinical results could transform a biotech company’s valuation. “It will be SLS next,” one said, urging investors to remain patient. Another called Sellas “Very undervalued given where $MRNA is.” 

The comparisons also revealed skepticism about Moderna’s upside after its surge. “SLS is WAY underhyped, $MRNA is WAY overhyped,” a third user said.

Meanwhile, an IBRX user compared the stock with AbCellera and Moderna and said, “Pick your poison,” clubbing them as competing biotech investments. Another remained bullish on IBRX but questioned whether it was “ready for primetime yet.” 

Moderna’s Cancer Bet Paves Index Return

Moderna’s index return follows a rally fueled by its personalized cancer vaccine, Intismeran, developed with Merck. In August, the companies said intismeran combined with Keytruda met the primary recurrence-free survival endpoint and the secondary distant metastasis-free survival endpoint in an interim analysis of a Phase 3 melanoma trial. 

The vaccine is tailored to mutations in each patient’s tumor. The results prompted a sharp repricing of Moderna’s cancer-treatment prospects, followed by further gains that took the shares above $200 late last month. 

SLS Investors Await Regal And Q4 Readouts

Sellas’ main catalyst remains the Phase 3 Regal trial of Galinpepimut-S, its cancer-vaccine candidate for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in second complete remission. The last reported count stood at 78 deaths, short of the 80 required to trigger final analysis. Data verification and analysis would follow before results are released, potentially supporting an FDA approval application if positive.

Sellas also expects initial fourth-quarter results from a Phase 2 study of SLS009, or Tambiciclib, in newly diagnosed AML patients. Recent pancreatic-cancer laboratory findings suggested stronger activity when SLS009 was combined with other experimental treatments.

ImmunityBio Eyes A Broader Anktiva Label

ImmunityBio’s outlook centers on Anktiva, its flagship immunotherapy, which is approved or authorized across 34 countries. An FDA decision on expanding Anktiva plus BCG into U.S. bladder-cancer patients with papillary disease without carcinoma in situ is expected by Jan. 6,2027. Second-quarter net product revenue reached $50.7 million, up 92% year-over-year.

A September patent application outlined potential uses to restore immune cells depleted by cancer treatments, potentially allowing patients to continue earlier therapies. “As such, even failed treatments can be continued,” the application said. Those proposed uses do not constitute an additional regulatory approval.

Founder Patrick Soon-Shiong has also drawn attention to blockchain-based trading initiatives at Nant. “The future is here. Watch this space as we launch blockchain and tokenized stocks at Nant,” he said.

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