DISCLAIMER — Not financial advice. Educational content only, not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Biotech and small/mid-cap stocks are highly speculative and volatile and can result in a partial or total loss of capital. Do your own research and consult a licensed advisor where appropriate. / Contenuti a solo scopo informativo e didattico, non costituiscono consulenza finanziaria né offerta o sollecitazione al pubblico risparmio ai sensi delle normative CONSOB e SEC. Le azioni biotech e le small/mid cap sono strumenti altamente speculativi e volatili e possono comportare la perdita parziale o totale del capitale investito. Si raccomanda di effettuare sempre le proprie ricerche e, se necessario, di rivolgersi a un consulente abilitato.
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Ardelyx Inc (ARDX) Growth is real, panic is optional: what Q4 2025 earnings really say

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The market reaction to Ardelyx’s Q4 2025 earnings was simple and brutal: the stock lost roughly fifteen percent in the days after the print, sending a message that “something is wrong”. If you stop at the chart, it looks like a broken story. If you read the filings, the picture is very different: this is a company that is clearly growing, but still paying a high price in operating expenses to sustain that growth.

AI retail and Merlintrader

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When people talk about artificial intelligence in trading and investing, I almost always see two opposite – and both wrong – reactions.

On one side you have those who demonise it by default: “it’s dangerous”, “it fills your head with nonsense”, “it’s useless, markets are moved by others anyway”. On the other side you have those who treat it like a modern oracle: “tell me what to buy”, “give me the next 10-baggers”, “build me the perfect watchlist”.

I work with AI every single day to build Merlintrader’s content, and I can tell you something very simple: the truth is neither here nor there. AI is not an enemy to fight, and it’s not a guru to worship. It is a tool. Extremely powerful if you use it well. Dangerous if you use it badly. Useless if you ignore it.

Weekly Recap & Briefing – Biotech, Space, Defense & AI Feb 21 2026

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This week’s recap walks through a classic “binary” market: indices inch higher while gold hits new records and oil creeps up on tariff and Iran risk. In biotech we see clean wins (VNDA, Telix) versus brutal setbacks (GRAIL, RGNX), while defense and space keep riding record military spending and drone/missile contracts. The briefing for February 23–28 closes with what really matters next: Nvidia’s earnings, the U.S. PPI print, and the first concrete signs from the Pentagon’s USD 1.1bn drone program.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc ($VNDA)

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The FDA has approved BYSANTI™ (milsaperidone) tablets as a first-line atypical antipsychotic for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes in bipolar I disorder and for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. This is Vanda’s second FDA approval in under two months, following NEREUS™ for motion-induced vomiting prevention.

Oscar Health Inc ($OSCR) Update 20 Feb

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Tech-enabled health insurer focused on Affordable Care Act individual and small-group markets, trying to recover from a difficult 2025 with a 2026 guidance that points back toward operating profitability, under the shadow of U.S. healthcare policy and subsidy decisions.

ImmunityBio Inc ($IBRX) Update Feb 20

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ImmunityBio announced a commercial partnership with Biopharma and Cigalah Healthcare to launch ANKTIVA in Saudi Arabia and, over time, across the wider Middle East and North Africa, backed by an SFDA registration certificate with pricing. It’s not a new label approval, but it is a concrete step in the global monetization of the ANKTIVA franchise.

Satellogic Inc ($SATL) Update Feb 19

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Pure-play Earth observation and satellite delivery name listed on Nasdaq, riding a wave of new government contracts and capital raises. This report looks at the real size of the backlog, the evolving mix between satellite sales and data-as-a-service, the cash runway after multiple offerings, and where the risk/reward sits for event-driven traders.

Tandem Diabetes Care Inc ($TNDM)

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After crossing 1 billion dollars in annual revenue and reporting record gross margins, Tandem enters 2026 in a delicate transition phase: rolling out a pay-as-you-go pharmacy model, expanding direct international operations and pushing its Control-IQ+ automation to more patients, while still carrying net losses and a sizeable convertible note stack.

Solid Biosciences ($SLDB)

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Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SLDB) is a precision genetic medicines company developing AAV‑based gene therapies for rare neuromuscular and cardiac diseases, with a lead focus on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT)

Corcept Therapeutics Inc ($CORT) Feb 19 Update

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Quick EN/IT follow-up after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the New Jersey decision that Teva’s proposed generic Korlym does not infringe two Corcept patents, clearing a key legal hurdle for generic competition. We look at what this means for Korlym cash flows, how it interacts with the recent relacorilant CRL and why the ovarian cancer PDUFA remains the central medium-term catalyst.

Hims & Hers Health Inc ($HIMS)

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A deep dive into Hims & Hers after the GLP-1 “pill gambit”, the Novo Nordisk lawsuit, and the transformative acquisition of Eucalyptus: business model, financials, balance sheet, insiders, retail crowd and key catalysts for 2026–2027

Red Cat Holdings, Inc.($RCAT)

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RCAT has a small analyst following relative to larger defense primes, but those who do cover the name generally frame it as a high-risk, high-reward play on secure U.S. and allied drone demand. Consensus ratings tilt toward “buy” or “speculative buy” in many summaries, with target prices that imply substantial upside from depressed levels – but also embed assumptions about revenue ramp and contract wins that are far from guaranteed.

Ondas ($ONDS) eyes Aeronautics

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Israeli business media report that Ondas has submitted an offer to buy Aeronautics, the unmanned systems subsidiary of Rafael. It is a proposal under review, not a completed acquisition. Below: what is confirmed, the political and regulatory risk, and how retail traders are reacting.

Geron Corp ($GERN) Feb 18 Update

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Almost one month after our long-form report at around $1.30, Geron is trading near $1.80. A slow but steady grind higher, driven more by positioning and expectations than by new hard data – with the first catalyst window now approaching: Q4 earnings and the first full-year RYTELO outlook under the new CEO.

NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc ($NRXP)

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NRx Pharmaceuticals is a micro-cap biotech focused on severe psychiatric conditions: suicidal depression, bipolar depression with suicidality, PTSD and related disorders. The core of the story is NRX-100, a preservative-free intravenous ketamine program supported by a large Real-World Evidence dataset, and NRX-101, an oral D-cycloserine + lurasidone combination with Breakthrough designation. Around those assets, the company is building HOPE Therapeutics, a network of interventional psychiatry clinics that should both validate the care model and generate revenue.