Capricor Stock Soars, Shkreli Is Short: Here's What Pharma Bro Had To Say
Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR) stock soared on Wednesday after the company announced positive topline data from the Phase 3 HOPE-3 trial for its lead cell therapy candidate, deramiocel.
- CAPR stock is soaring. See the real-time price action here.
The data release and stock surge triggered a dramatic response from controversial former pharma executive and prominent short-seller Martin Shkreli, who had publicly bet against Capricor's success.
Benzinga reached out to Capricor Therapeutics for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
The furious rally in CAPR stock represents a major reversal and a massive paper loss for any short position held going into the data readout — causing a “short squeeze” and driving the stock price even higher.
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Shkreli’s Short Bet Goes Up in Smoke
Just last week, Shkreli had identified Capricor as his next major biotech short target, co-authoring a lengthy report and predicting failure for its HOPE-3 study on social media.
He also predicted that the stock price would collapse to around $2 per share.
"My next biotech short is $CAPR.
@anthonystaj and I wrote a 46-page report on the issues facing Capricor. In the next few days, the HOPE-3 (aka COPE-3) study will report its data. It will not work. This is the company’s only asset," Shkreli said in a post last Monday.
Shkreli Criticizes the Data
Before the data was even released, Shkreli implied that Capricor's CEO may be tempted to present false or misleading information and warned her of the consequences of doing so.
"Do not lie about your data when you present it, @linda_marban. if you do, you will face law enforcement consequences. take it from me, it’s just not worth it. lying is wrong. spinning is wrong. just give the real data: good, bad or ugly. prison is not the way," Shkreli posted on X Tuesday night.
After the data was released on Wednesday morning, the stock went parabolic.
In social media posts following the release, Shkreli alleged that the company did not meet a “prespecified primary endpoint,” arguing that the reported results were based on “post-hoc analyses.”
Shkreli also went so far as to allege that Capricor had changed the primary endpoint.
"Okay first glance is CAPR changed the pre-defined primary endpoint from mean change to % slowing. linda really wants to visit the bureau of prisons," he said in a post.
Major Regulatory Step Cleared
Capricor CEO Linda Marbán stated that the HOPE-3 results delivered “strong and definitive evidence that Deramiocel can meaningfully improve the course of Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” and confirmed the company would use the data to address a previous Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA.
The Takeaway
Shkreli’s short thesis remains a point of discussion among retail traders, but the market’s initial reaction was clear: the success of HOPE-3 is a game-changer for the company and a major defeat for those betting against it.
CAPR Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Capricor shares were up 356% at $29.02 at the time of publication Wednesday.
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