FDA Nod Sends CLVS Stock Skyrocketing

The FDA just granted the stock's advanced prostate cancer treatment priority review status

The shares of health care name Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS) are surging in electronic trading, following news the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review status to its Rubraca therapy in patients with advanced prostate cancer. The stock is up 26.5% ahead of the bell, set to pop back into double-digit territory.

On the charts, CLVS has been in cool-down mode since hitting a five-month high just north of the $17 level in early December. The 60-day moving average has swooped in to capture some of these losses, though, and in the last three months, CLVS has nearly tripled -- up 177.7% through last night's close at $8.90. What's more, the security is poised to clear recent resistance at its 20-day moving average today.

Should today's positive price action continue, a round of analyst upgrades could propel the stock even higher. Right now, five of the six in coverage consider Clovis Oncology a tepid "hold."

Meanwhile, shorts have firm control of the equity. Despite a slight dip in short interest during the past two reporting periods, the 26.89 million shares still sold short represent a mind-boggling 49.3% of the stock's available float, of 2.6 days of trading, at CLVS' average pace.