Like it or not, the 200 day moving average can be a bear to break above, serving as a tough source of technical resistance. Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLRB) has been proving this point since the early in April when the daily chart broke below the key 200 DMA, a sign of bearishness for most technicians.
The stock's best run at it came earlier this month (August 8) with a gap through it when it was around $1.80, with the stock tapping a high of $2.06 in morning action before ending the day yet again below its 200 DMA. Subsequently, three consecutive days of trying to get back over it were failures, lending to shares slipping to a low of $1.41, which happens to be a solid area of support right now.
Point is, that in Tuesday trading, shares have plowed ahead by 29 cents, or 19.5%, to $1.77 and (drum roll, please) the 200 DMA at $1.78.
Shares have been catalyzed by a corporate statement saying that Cellectar's Phospholipid Drug Conjugate research program has generated numerous PDC molecules that show significant improved pharmacologic activity versus the payload molecule alone. Using novel linkers, the Madison, Wisconsin-based company says it has formulated new compounds with superior tumor targeting properties with less collateral damage to off-target tissue and fewer side effects typical to chemotherapy.
The news today expands upon the potential for Cellectar's PDC product pipeline that currently includes CLR 131 in two clinical programs, one for multiple myeloma and another for hematologic malignancies, and three other early stage programs.
The question is: Will the developments be enough to push CLRB through and hold over its 200 DMA? It's by no means a guarantee of bullishness to ensue, but it is a sign to technical traders that the chart is trying to head that direction.
