Mural Oncology Shares Surge As Company Explores Strategic Alternatives: What's Going On?

Shares of Mural Oncology plc (NASDAQ:MURA) are soaring Monday following the company's announcement that it will discontinue clinical development of its lead drug candidate Nemvaleukin and begin exploring strategic alternatives.

What To Know: Mural Oncology announced that it’s discontinuing all clinical development of Nemvaleukin alfa and plans to immediately commence the exploration of strategic alternatives focused on maximizing shareholder value.

The decision follows a review of data from two clinical trials, ARTISTRY-6 in melanoma and ARTISTRY-7 in ovarian cancer, where the drug failed to demonstrate sufficient efficacy.

In response to the program's termination, Mural plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 90% and will now evaluate options that include a potential sale, merger, or other business combination. The company has retained Lucid Capital Markets as its financial advisor for the process.

Mural reported approximately $144.4 million in cash and equivalents, as of the end of 2024. While no potential buyers have come forward and discussions are not currently underway, Mural is now formally considered to be in an "offer period" under the Irish Takeover Rules, which apply due to the company’s legal structure.

How To Buy MURA Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Mural Oncology – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

In the case of Mural Oncology, which is trading at $2.59 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 38.61 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

MURA Price Action: Mural Oncology shares were up 147.4% at $2.54 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

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