These Were the 5 Top-Performing Stocks in the Nasdaq Composite in August 2025

Key Points

• The development of new drugs continues to generate bullish interest from investors.

• Most of these companies are small, leaving their shares subject to explosive moves.

• Despite their big rallies, all of these stocks merit plenty of due diligence in advance.

• 10 stocks we like better than Cognition Therapeutics ›

While last month ended up being a decent one for the Nasdaq Composite, it was downright fantastic for a handful of Nasdaq-listed names. Here's a rundown of the Nasdaq Composite's five-best performing stocks that blew the index's 1.6% August gain out of the water.

1. Tharimmune (NASDAQ: HILS): up 378% last month, mostly in response to encouraging news regarding the biopharma company's lead drug candidate TH104, which counters weaponized fentanyl. A handful of patents were also secured.
2. Equillium (NASDAQ: EQ): rallied 345% solely on news that it had raised $50 million through a private-placement sale of stock. Although this dilutes existing shareholders, most investors believe the benefit is worth it. Now, the company will have the funds needed to continue the development of EQ504, which could be used to treat skin and gastrointestinal diseases.
3. Cognition Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CGTX): gained 315% in August after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration affirmed its phase 3 testing for Alzheimer's drug CT1812 can proceed as planned. That news also pushed CGTX shares back above the Nasdaq exchange's minimum price requirement, spurring even more bullishness.
4. Professional Diversity Network (NASDAQ: IPDN): advanced 247% over the course of August starting with the appointment of a new CEO early in the month, although most of the gain materialized later in August following news that it had entered into a critical developmental partnership that could spur significant growth.
5. Jyong Biotech (NASDAQ: MENS): up 188% although for no specific reason. Investors are mostly just "finding" the late-stage drug developer following its mid-June initial public offering. Its MCS-2 (API-2) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia is currently in phase 3 testing, and showing promising results.

While these enormous gains are exciting, they're not necessarily reason enough to step into these stocks now. In fact, these big rallies arguably make these stocks too risky to dive into now. Either way, you'll want to perform plenty of due diligence on all of these names before investing in any of them.

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James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.