Entrada Therapeutics (Entrada Therapeutics (TRDA)) had a rough Thursday. The biotech's stock cratered by nearly 60% after it released clinical trial data that left investors wanting more. The numbers weren't bad in a vacuum — but in the world of Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatments, expectations were sky-high, and the data didn't deliver.

The company reported topline results from Cohort 1 of the multiple ascending dose portion of its Phase 1/2 study, called ELEVATE-44-201. The trial is testing ENTR-601-44 in ambulatory patients aged 4 to 20 who have a specific genetic mutation amenable to exon 44 skipping. The key metric everyone was watching: dystrophin protein expression. Dystrophin is the protein missing in Duchenne patients, and boosting it is the whole point of the therapy.

Here's what the data showed: treated patients saw a 2.36% increase in dystrophin over a baseline of 4.00%, and a 2.31% increase in exon skipping over a baseline of 2.66%. Those are real increases, but they were far below the 10% that analysts and investors had baked into their expectations. William Blair noted that the stock's plunge was directly tied to that miss — the market was looking for a home run, and Entrada hit a single.

But it wasn't all bad news. The drug also showed statistically significant improvement in a functional measure called Time to Rise (TTR) velocity — basically, how fast kids can get up off the floor. The mean change in TTR velocity versus placebo was 0.115, and the treatment group saw a mean change of 0.08. That's a clinically validated endpoint, and it suggests the drug might actually be helping patients move better, even if the dystrophin numbers weren't as flashy.

So why did the stock get crushed? Because for biotech investors, the dystrophin number is the headline. It's the easiest to compare across trials and the most direct measure of whether a drug is doing its job. A 2.36% increase just didn't cut it, especially when competitors have shown higher numbers. The market voted with its sell orders.

Technically, the stock was already set up for a fall. Before the selloff, the relative strength index (RSI) was at 71.74 — overbought territory. That means traders were already sitting on gains and looking for an excuse to take profits. The disappointing data gave them that excuse. The stock now sits at $7.00, well below its 20-day simple moving average of $13.81. Key resistance is at $8.50, and support is at $7.50 — though that level didn't hold on Thursday.

Looking ahead, Entrada isn't throwing in the towel. The company has already started dosing Cohort 2 at a higher dose of 12 mg/kg and expects to report data by the end of 2026. That's a potential catalyst, but it's also a long wait. For now, investors are left wondering whether the functional improvement signal is enough to justify the stock's remaining value — or whether the dystrophin miss is a sign of deeper trouble.