Oil Whipsawed, Bitcoin Short-Squeezed, and Nobody Knows What Happens Tuesday Night

Monday handed you a ceasefire framework, a looming ultimatum, a Bitcoin short squeeze to $70,000, and a stock market that somehow managed to close green through all of it.

Stick with today's edition, and we will walk you through every move that mattered on the most important Monday of the war.

As conflict headlines dominate the news, a bigger opportunity may be forming behind the scenes.

SpaceX has become deeply embedded in U.S. defense infrastructure across all military branches.

But its next move could impact investors far more than geopolitics.

There’s increasing talk that Elon Musk may eventually take the company public.

If it happens, it could become one of the most significant IPOs in market history.

Some investors are already looking for ways to position ahead of that possibility.

See How They’re Doing It Here

Monday's session was defined by whipsawing oil prices and cautious hope that a ceasefire framework brokered by Pakistan could bring the five-week war closer to an end.

Stocks held a slight green bias throughout the day, with the S&P up modestly and the Nasdaq outperforming as tech names found buyers, while the VIX stayed elevated as nobody was willing to fully commit either way ahead of Tuesday's moment of truth.

Bitcoin briefly touched $70,000 on a wave of short liquidations, pulling crypto stocks higher with it, and Morgan Stanley said the S&P is carving out a near-term low.

The ISM services data came in below expectations, with employment dropping sharply and prices spiking, which is the stagflation cocktail the Fed has been hoping to avoid.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: NBIX) is buying Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9 billion, and this is no ordinary acquisition. It marks a clear shift in the company's direction.

Until now, Neurocrine has been known for its focus on neurological disorders.

This deal pushes it into the metabolic diseases space, opening the door to a completely new category of treatments and growth.

This Is More Than Just One Drug

The headline asset here is a newly approved treatment for a rare genetic disorder that causes extreme hunger.

It is the first of its kind, and that alone makes it important. But the bigger story is what it represents.

You are watching Neurocrine move beyond a narrow focus and start building a broader, more diversified business that is not tied to a single disease type.

A Third Engine Changes Everything

Neurocrine already has two strong drugs driving its business. This deal effectively adds a third pillar, and that matters more than it sounds.

Pharma companies live and die by their pipeline. The more high-potential treatments they control, the more stable and scalable the business becomes.

This is how companies go from niche players to long-term leaders. You can see the direction clearly.

Neurocrine is not just adding a drug; it is building a wider platform that could define its next decade of growth.

AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) just delivered its biggest Easter weekend in company history, pulling in over 6 million moviegoers across its global theaters.

That includes record revenue from ticket sales and concessions, where theaters quietly make a large part of their money.

The Crowd Is Coming Back, At Least for Now

For years, the big question around AMC has been simple: Will people still show up? Streaming changed habits, and many assumed theaters would never fully recover.

This weekend suggests something different. When the right mix of movies hits at the same time, audiences still turn up in large numbers.

Big releases, familiar franchises, and family-friendly content all played a role here. When you look at this, it is less about one film and more about the system working again.

The Model Still Works If the Content Delivers

AMC does not control what movies get made, but it depends entirely on how strong that pipeline is. This weekend shows what happens when multiple films connect with audiences at once.

That is where your view of AMC shifts a bit. The business is not broken; it is just heavily dependent on consistent content.

Momentum Is Good, Consistency Is the Real Test

One strong weekend does not solve long-term challenges. Attendance needs to be held, not spike occasionally.

What stands out to you is that AMC is still capable of filling seats at scale, and that keeps the entire comeback story alive.

For decades, this type of investment was limited to the ultra-wealthy.

Access was restricted. Entry barriers were high.

Then Executive Order 14330 changed the landscape — making it available to everyday investors.

Now, you can tap into this growing space for less than $20.

See What Changed

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) just filed to launch a new fund that tracks the Nasdaq-100, going directly after one of the most popular investment products in the market.

This is not a random launch. It is a calculated move into a space long dominated by a single major player.

Control of a Massive Category

The Nasdaq-100 is one of the most-watched indexes, home to the world's biggest tech companies. Millions of investors use funds tied to it as a simple way to get exposure to that growth.

BlackRock wants a bigger piece of that flow.

When you look at this, it is less about adding another product and more about stepping into a category that already moves huge amounts of money.

BlackRock Plays the Long Game

BlackRock already runs some of the largest funds globally. When it enters a space, it usually aims to scale quickly and compete aggressively on accessibility and cost.

A strong alternative to an existing dominant fund can slowly pull investors over time, especially if it feels easier or more efficient.

That is where your perspective changes, because this is a company that keeps finding ways to sit at the center of how people invest.

What stands out to you is the intent. BlackRock is not just participating; it is targeting one of the most established products out there, and that kind of move rarely stays small.

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Soleno Therapeutics [SLNO] $52.27 (+32.35%)

Neurocrine Biosciences announced it is acquiring Soleno for $53 per share in an all-cash deal worth $2.9 billion, a 34% premium to last week's close.

Soleno makes VYKAT XR, the first FDA-approved treatment for hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome, which generated $190 million in revenue in its first year on the market.

For Soleno shareholders, it is a very tidy exit.

RCM Technologies [RCMT] $25.47 (+31.97%)

RCM Technologies provides engineering, healthcare staffing, and IT services and posted a quarter last Thursday that grew EBITDA by 49% year over year and delivered earnings per share well above estimates.

The market spent the long weekend digesting those results and came back Monday ready to reprice a $190 million company that put up numbers this clean in a macro environment this messy.

Agilon Health [AGL] $14.09 (+31.19%) 

Agilon Health is a Medicare-centric value-based care company that completed a 1-for-25 reverse stock split last week to regain NYSE compliance after spending most of 2025 trading near its all-time lows.

The 29% move reflects post-split volatility in a thin-float name rather than a confirmed turnaround, with the company still guiding for adjusted EBITDA losses and aiming for breakeven by 2027 at best.

Swarmer [SWMR] $50.00 (-24.79%) 

Swarmer has now been on both sides of this newsletter enough times to deserve its own recurring segment.

The drone software company ran up on retail enthusiasm and war-trade narrative, and is giving back another 25% Monday as the momentum that drove it higher simply ran out of new buyers at these levels.

AXT Inc [AXTI] $41.31 (-21.82%) 

AXT makes compound semiconductor substrates for 5G and data center applications, and has now appeared as a loser in this newsletter two weeks in a row.

Monday's drop came as peace optimism drained the geopolitical supply chain premium out of the stock, and the pattern of back-to-back major down weeks at a $2.3 billion company suggests the repricing is not done.

Polaryx Therapeutics [PLYX] $5.69 (-20.31%) 

Polaryx is developing treatments for rare neurological diseases and dropped 20% Monday after clinical data raised questions about the pace and consistency of patient response in its lead program.

At a $269 million market cap with a Strong Buy rating going in, the market's verdict on an unclear readout at this size tends to be swift and not gentle.

Oil has moved above $100 a barrel as tensions in the Middle East continue to reshape expectations across global energy markets.

While daily headlines can drive sharp swings, the bigger story may be what higher crude prices mean for select energy companies with strong cash flow and operating leverage.

Zacks has outlined three oil stocks that may be well positioned if elevated prices persist.

Read the report.

*The results listed above are not (or may not be) representative of the performance of all selections made by Zacks Investment Research's newsletter editors and may represent the partial close of a position. Access grants you a comprehensive list of all open and closed trades.
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That's it for today! Please, write us back, and let us know what you think of the Closing Bell Roundup. We're always eager to hear feedback!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you at the next open! 

Best Regards,
— Adam G.
Elite Trade Club

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