We recently published 10 Market Stars Behind Millionaire-Making in 2025. Cidara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) is one of the top performers. Cidara Therapeutics climbed by 721.76 percent in 2025, primarily bolstered by its looming merger with Merck for $9.2 billion. In an announcement last November, Cidara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) said that it signed a definitive agreement with Merck, under which the latter’s subsidiary would acquire the former’s issued and outstanding shares at a price of $221.50 apiece. At that time, the acquisition price represented a 108 percent premium over Cidara Therapeutics Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CDTX) closing price of $105.99 on November 13, or prior to the announcement of the deal.
The acquisition followed Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) receipt of a fast track designation from the Food and Drug Administration for its drug candidate, CD388, which aims to prevent influenza in individuals at higher risk of complications. The CD388 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 study among 6,000 adult and adolescent participants in the US and the UK who are at higher risk of developing complications from influenza. “This acquisition expands and complements our respiratory portfolio and pipeline. Influenza continues to pose a significant global health threat, causing widespread illness, morbidity and death each year especially in older adults and immunocompromised individuals, such as those with cancer and chronic diseases,” said Merck Research Laboratories President Dean Li. “CD388 is a novel late-phase candidate with important strain-agnostic properties being evaluated for the prevention of symptomatic influenza in high-risk individuals.” The merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. While we acknowledge the potential of CDTX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
