Hot Stocks: Chinese stocks jump; FRGE surges in debut; PANW hits high; ORIC, GRPH plunge
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Wall Street resumed its recent upswing on Tuesday, led by a 2% rise in the Nasdaq, which closed above 14,000 for the first time since mid-February. The rally came amid a surge in bond yields, with investors adding risk to their portfolios in a scramble for higher returns.
As an example of the appetite for more speculative names, Chinese stocks were among the best performers on the session. Bilibili (BILI), Alibaba (BABA), JD.com (JD) and Baidu (BIDU) all posted notable gains on the day.
Forge Global (FRGE) was another standout performer. The stock spiked in its first session following the closing of a SPAC deal.
Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) added to its recent gains and set a fresh 52-week high, as increased geopolitical risk has put its cybersecurity services in the spotlight.
Looking at the downside, Oric Pharmaceuticals (ORIC) fell nearly 30% after weak clinical data forced it to alter its development program. Along the same lines, Graphite Bio (GRPH) fell to a post-IPO low after delaying the release of its own clinical data.
Sector In Focus
Chinese stocks, especially in the tech and internet industries, remained among the most volatile names on Wall Street. The sector rallied on Tuesday, continuing an uneven recovery that started last week.
Last Wednesday, signs of a more constructive regulatory regime in Beijing prompted a massive buying spree in the sector. The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) surged about 40% in a single day, coming off a low reached earlier in the week. 
Since then, the sector has seen violent swings, often of more than 8%. This continued Tuesday, with KWEB finishing higher by 8% following a nearly 7% slide in the previous session.
With Tuesday's action, Bilibili (BILI) posted an advance of 20%, while Alibaba (BABA) climbed 11%. JD.com (JD) and Baidu (BIDU) each rose more than 5% on the session.
Standout Gainer
Forge Global (FRGE) made a standout debut on Wall Street, jumping 58% after coming public through a SPAC deal.
The private securities marketplace came to market through a SPAC deal with Motive Capital, in a deal that was first announced last September. The original merger agreement valued the company at around $2B.
Early in Tuesday's trading, FRGE surged to $26.75, representing a gain of more than 160%. The stock moderated significantly from there but shares still finished the day with a gain of $5.89. FRGE closed the session at $16.
Standout Loser
Oric Pharmaceuticals (ORIC) plunged 29% after announcing that it will shift focus away from a once-promising cancer treatment after clinical results failed to live up to expectations.
ORIC said it would abandon its lead candidate, ORIC-101, as a potential treatment of metastatic prostate cancer and solid tumors. The decision followed the interim analysis of data from two Phase 1b trials.
The company reported that it will continue to pursue the development of three other programs currently in Phase 1 testing. New data from these candidates are expected in the first half of 2023.
ORIC reassured investors that it has a sufficient cash runway to continue operations through the second half of 2024.
Still, investors reacted negatively to the disappointing news on ORIC-101. The stock fell by $1.92 to close at $4.76. Shares also set an intraday 52-week low of $3.94.
ORIC, which has a 52-week high of $27.14, was trading above $25 as recently as mid-September. Shares have tumbled 81% since that level.
Notable New High
With the Ukraine conflict raising geopolitical tensions across the board, cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks (PANW) continued its recent upswing, rising 3.5% and setting a fresh 52-week high.
The stock rose $20.22 to finish Tuesday's trading at $597.42. The stock also reached an intraday 52-week high of $609.49. 
This marked PANW's sixth consecutive session of gains. Shares have climbed nearly 14% since March 14.
The recent advance has come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised the specter of cyberattacks, suggesting that demand for PANW's services will increase in the coming years. Earlier this week, the Biden administration warned the Russian government that the U.S. was exploring options to counter any cyberattacks.
Notable New Low
The delay of a key data release raised concerns about clinical-stage gene-editing firm Graphite Bio (GRPH), which fell nearly 11% on Tuesday to reach its lowest level since coming public last June.
As part of its quarterly earnings release, GRPH revealed that early proof-of-concept data for its GPH101 product in sickle cell disease will come out later than it had previously forecast. The firm said it now expected to unveil the information, based on a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, in 2023.
Previously, the company had indicated that the data would come out by the end of this year.
Based on the news, GRPH plunged in early trading, reaching an intraday 52-week low of $5.54 before bouncing back a bit later in the day. The stock eventually closed at $6.16, a decline of 73 cents on the session.
Longer-term, GRPH has fallen nearly 64% over the past six months.

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