A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 48

A month had passed since going all-in on the investment. Ha Si-heon had been unusually quiet. He didn't start any trouble, nor did he roam around; he simply sat at his place and devoted himself to his work as if nothing had happened. Yet, all eyes from Goldman's associates were on Ha Si-heon.

"Hey, Si-heon! How have you been lately?"

"Anything changed?"

People who would friendly greet him as they walked down the hall were lining up. Many sneaked peeks at Ha Si-heon's expression as they entered the M&A department. They each went back to their departments and reported on Ha Si-heon's status as if it were a matter of significant military secret.

"He seems to be in a good mood today?"

"Why, do they say it’s going up?"

"Not really, but he didn’t cut off the conversation."

"So, does that mean it's going up, or what?"

Those who showed interest in Ha Si-heon had something in common. They were all freeloaders on ‘UnicornPick'. Indeed, Unicorn Pick was sweet. In that time, Genesis's stock price soared from $58 to $73, recording a 25.86% return in just a month.

"How much did you put in?"

"1,000. I threw in another 5,000 last week, though it felt a bit late. You?"

"I put in 5,000. If I knew this, I wouldn't have hesitated and just pushed in 10,000 from the start…"

Many shook their heads in regret. They only dipped their toes in with small amounts, thinking to jump in when the trend picked up, but they missed the most lucrative segment.

"Should I buy more now? I just got my salary…"

"I'm not sure, it’s a bit…"

The desire to buy more swelled, but when it came time to open their wallets, they hesitated. It was because of the news they heard just this morning.

"<Genesis, ‘Hold': OCA results announcement, likely to be postponed to the next quarter…>"

OCA, a drug in Phase 2 trials for liver disease treatment, was a critical new drug for Genesis. Data from Phase 2 was expected to be announced within the year. That had been the prevailing expectation, but suddenly the schedule was pushed back.

"What’s he saying?"

"It's nothing serious, he says. Delays in clinical trials are common."

"He looked happy, didn’t he? Should we go for it?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure…"

An associate who had spied on Ha Si-heon furrowed his brow.

"He didn’t even know about the delay in the clinical trials until I told him."

"Come on, does that make sense?"

In a situation where everything depended on the clinical results. It was nonsensical not to check the progress.

"He’s probably just postponing it. Maybe he doesn't want to bother."

"Hmm, that could be. He outright told us, ‘Don't look at the stock chart.' He said staring at a pot won’t make the water boil any faster."

However, this was advice that freeloaders found hard to accept.

"Isn’t the delay a serious issue? Ignoring it seems too irresponsible."

"Come on, he must have looked at it. He just doesn’t want to tell us."

Even those who invested only a few thousand dollars were constantly checking the stock price. Let alone Ha Si-heon, who had invested a whopping $26.8 million.

It's impossible for him to be truly indifferent.

Because no human could be.

"Isn't this rather a positive thing? If it looks like bad news and the stock falls, now might be the buying opportunity."

"What about him?"

"He's completely switched off from it."

Ha Si-heon still looked calm.

Only the freeloaders were perturbed by the adverse news and discussed strategies.

Amidst their incessant discussions, the morning of January 9th dawned.

January 9th, 8 AM.

Faber, an associate in the retail department, had his eyes fixed on the monitor.

His bloodshot eyes trembled as he watched the numbers flicker in real time.

$72.98

$72.03

$71.98

It was the first downturn he was witnessing.

Until yesterday, the stock price had been holding at the $73 line, but it had dropped to $71 due to the impact of the delayed clinical trial news.

"Should I get out now?"

Faber gritted his teeth.

If the stock price plummeted, his entire investment of $55,000 might evaporate in an instant.

He needed to act immediately if a sharp decline was detected.

A prepared message for selling was already on his smartphone.

But just as his finger hovered over the send button, a loud vibration erupted.

A prominent notification message caught his eye above the text window.

"Why now of all times!"

Faber flinched as he went to dismiss the notification, irritated.

It was from Bloomberg.

He had set it to alert him immediately about any news related to Genesis, and it had just activated.

It was new news.

Gulp.

Faber swallowed dryly.

This was an ominous sign.

Terminating the clinical trials early…

It meant that they had stopped the trial without finishing it completely, which surely indicated a significant issue.

If it were a minor issue, they would have just delayed the schedule.

With a nervous heart, Faber clicked the link. As the screen lit up, the full article appeared.

[Genesis had declared the early termination of its Phase 2 trial for OCA.

This was because they believed they had achieved the primary endpoint early.

The Data and Safety Monitoring Board had analyzed the secondary biopsy results from half of the 283 patients—143 patients—and reported that it had already shown statistically significant results (p=0.0024).

Considering the original target was p<0.0031…]

The content was complex.

For Faber, who was virtually blind to the pharmaceutical industry, it was even more so.

Faber rubbed his forehead and mulled over the full text several times before he understood its meaning.

Despite having confirmed only half of the participating patients, the efficacy of the drug had been clearly proven.

Even if the remaining patients were ‘non-responsive,' they had already secured statistical significance…

"So, this means…"

In terms of a regular test, it meant that they had passed the mark by solving only half the problems.

Therefore, there was no need to continue grading the rest.

It was an extremely positive development.

Relief was short-lived.

"Then…"

Faber's hands swiftly brought up the Genesis stock price window. His eyes widened as he looked at the screen.

$150.48

$151.83

"What is this…!"

Click! Click!

Faber quickly pressed the refresh button.

$253.09

The stock price, starting at $71, had breached $250 in just 30 minutes. And still, there was no sign of slowing down in the ascent of Genesis's stock price.

"This can't be real…"

"How is this even possible?"

The Goldman associates watching were astounded. It was a sight so unbelievable, even seeing it with their own eyes. The term ‘meteoric rise' didn’t even begin to cover it.

"This is like Apple level…"

"Why are we talking about Apple all of a sudden?"

"No, I mean… it surpassed the growth Apple achieved over four years in just 20 minutes."

While some were dumbfounded by this surreal development, others got even busier.

—Time to buy more!!!

The decision among the freeloaders was quick. Most of them pressed the additional purchase button as soon as they saw the article on the positive news.

—Is it too late to jump in now?

Those pondering now were a new class of investors. Those who had only been watching ‘Unicorn Pick' from a distance until now.

—Bought the full amount at 200. It will keep rising, right?

—It's risen too much, haven’t I missed the timing? Should have jumped in from the start…

—My fault for not believing in Unicorn. I was just planning to keep watching…

Seeing Genesis's crazy rally, their hearts couldn't help but waver. Meanwhile, outside Goldman, even bigger chaos was unfolding. Various social media platforms, stock forums, and message boards were ablaze with news about Genesis.

—(Breaking News) Genesis stocks have surged 256% in just one hour 😂

There's no effort in this manipulation

-Link pls 😅

-What in the world;;;

-(Breaking News) Genesis just surged an additional 12% in 2 minutes 😂

-Crazy; this is madness;;; Genesis's stock price was now nearing $300. It had already quadrupled and was still climbing. It was truly a frenzied rush. The bull market is starting 😂😂😂

-Hitting $400 is just basic courtesy

-Holding my breath till $500

Many jumped on the bandwagon, seeing the trend, which caused the stock price to skyrocket even faster. Of course, not everyone was caught up in this frenzy.

-Genesis, that’s a typical bubble……………

Some clucked their tongues and left messages of warning.

—Revenue zero, soaring on just one positive news jumping into this mess?

-Logical analysis of Genesis incoming…………… It’s all an illusion

-The main player here is ASC Capital, currently under indictment for insider trading.

-😒 Was about to sell off thinking the time’s right but they're just roping in more fools with one successful trial

-If you see that no major institutions are getting in, you’ll know the answer

Various conspiracy theories and analytical posts were circulating at the time.