New York, Jan 9, 2026, 11:52 EST — Regular session
CG Oncology shares jumped on Friday after the company moved up the expected timing for late-stage trial results in bladder cancer. The stock was up 25.1% at $52.45 by 11:52 EST, versus Thursday’s close of $41.93, after trading between $41.63 and $52.64 on the day as volume topped 4.1 million shares.
The faster timetable pulls forward a key catalyst for a biotech still in trials. In this part of the market, investors often trade the calendar as hard as the science.
Topline data — the first look at whether a study hit its main goal — can quickly reset bets on approval odds and future sales. It also tends to draw fresh attention from generalist funds that have been sitting out.
Irvine, California-based CG Oncology said it now expects topline data in the first half of 2026 from PIVOT-006, a Phase 3 registrational trial testing intravesical (delivered into the bladder) cretostimogene grenadenorepvec versus surveillance after bladder tumor removal in more than 360 intermediate-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. The company linked the faster readout to rapid enrollment across more than 90 sites and called PIVOT-006 the first randomized registrational trial in that patient group. Chief Executive Arthur Kuan said there are “no U.S. FDA approved options” for adjuvant therapy and pegged the U.S. intermediate-risk population at more than 50,000 patients. 1
A regulatory filing on Friday showed the company also posted an updated corporate presentation on its website, alongside the press release as an exhibit. That kind of deck can shift the conversation in a hurry if investors see timelines or study assumptions change. 2
Separately, Morgan Stanley analyst Sean Laaman raised his price target on CG Oncology to $89 from $82 and kept an Overweight rating, TipRanks reported. In a broader outlook note, he argued smaller biotechs can outperform as commercial names move from “capital consumers to producers.” 3
PIVOT-006 is designed to measure recurrence-free survival after transurethral resection of bladder tumor, or TURBT, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. It compares surgery followed by cretostimogene with surgery followed by observation, the registry shows. 4
But an earlier readout cuts both ways. If the topline results miss the main target or safety surprises to the downside, Friday’s rally can reverse fast, and regulators can still demand longer follow-up or additional data.
Investors now turn to the next near-term checkpoint: CG Oncology is scheduled to present at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 15, the company has said. That slot often draws fresh questions on trial timelines, endpoints and what comes after the first-half readout. 5
