Stock Market Today, March 16: CytomX Therapeutics Surges After Positive Phase 1 Colorectal Cancer Data

2026-03-16 18:56:37 ET

CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTMX) , a biotech company that develops conditionally activated biologics for cancer treatment, closed Monday at $6.75, up 44.23%. The stock is jumping after releasing Phase 1 Varseta-M data in metastatic colorectal cancer and subsequent upbeat analyst reactions. Investors will now be watching upcoming FDA interactions and further clinical readouts.
Trading volume reached 118 million shares, coming in about 2,211% above its three-month average of 5.1 million shares. CytomX IPO'd in 2015 and has fallen 48% since going public.

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 1.02% to 6,700, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) added 1.22% to finish at 22,374. Within biotechnology, industry peers XOMA (NASDAQ:XOMA) closed at $26.61 (+0.87%) and Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) finished at $26.55 (+2.31%), underscoring interest in drug developers.

CytomX announced Phase 1 expansion data for varsetatug masetecan (also called Varseta-M), revealing objective response rates of up to 32% and progression-free survival of approximately seven months in late-stage metastatic colorectal cancer. This data bolsters their intentions to engage in FDA registrational trial discussions in 2026.

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