Pfizer, Microsoft & Existing Home Sales Jump To Lead The Dow Past 27k

The Dow 30 received out weighted daily gains from biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE) & tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) to lift it today past 27k to 27,005.84 despite some US-China trade war shenanigans surfacing where the US ordered that China’s must close its doors in Houston, TX on or before this Friday. Regardless, Pfizer (PFE) closed at $38.56/share up another 5.1% today as they, along with their partner BioNTech (BNTX) ($104.17/share, +13.7%), confirmed that they will secure a $1.95B US vaccine supply agreement upon the reception of an FDA approval. Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) also had a good day closing at $211.75/share up 1.44% as investors bid it up going into its earnings release after the close. Microsoft proceeded to beat Wall Street’s fiscal Q4 2020 expectations i.e. revs of $38B vs. $35.5B, earnings of $1.46 vs. $1.36. We also received the US existing home sales report which confirmed a sizable jump of 20.7% month/month in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million as the inventory of existing homes continues to be tight and as the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index rose 4.1%.

The S&P 500 gained .57% closing at 3,276.02 while the little guys on the Russell 2000 gained .18% closing at 1,490.14. The NASDAQ got back to its winning ways closing at 10,706.13 up .24%.

The FAANG stocks ended as follows: Facebook (FB) closed at $239.87/share down .78%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $3,099.91/share down 1.22% (Goldman Sachs & Jeffries recently updated research with a $3800/share target price), Apple (AAPL) closed at $389.09/share up .28%, Netflix (NFLX) dropped .06% closing at $489.82/share & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,558.49/share up .65%

 Gold closed further above the $1800 mark again at $1,870(+27) & silver prices jumped again today to close at $23.26/oz (+.98.) North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) closed at $5.33/share up 7.03% after establishing another new 52-week high of $5.46/share. HL’s 52-week low is $1.38.  Nother American silver producer First Majestic Silver (AG) closed at $14.05/share up a whopping 13.77% near its newly minted 52-week high of $14.08.

Oil prices rose again up another .3% closing at $41.88/bbl today however the energy sector dropped 1.3%. A few energy leaders closed as follows: Chevron (CVX) closed at $91.04/share down .38% after recently announcing the acquisition of Noble Energy (NBL) for $5 Billion of stock, Exxon (XOM) closed at $43.61/share down 2.33% & highly leveraged Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $16.95/share down 2.64%. Midstream player, Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), closed trading at $18.44/share down 1.02% and is currently sporting an attractive $1.78/share dividend or 9.55%.  

The financials sector ended down.1 %. The 2-yr US treasury yield closed down 1 basis point at .13% while the 10-yr yield closed moved down 1 basis point at .60%. The U.S. Dollar Index weakened by another .2% to end at 94.95. 

Here’s a number of other equities that moved significantly higher today along with our stocks in view and what to expect from the macroeconomic schedule:

• Shares of Atossa Therapeutics (ATOS) rose 12.16% closing at $4.15/share on 1.74M shares of trading volume.  Interest continues to swell around both their breast cancer treatment and two COVID-19 drug programs.

• Shares of Sunrun Inc. (RUN) added another 3.51% (~+29% over the last week) closing at $40.35/share and reaching a new 52-wk high of $41.15. Recently, Sunrun and Vivint Solare announced that they would be merging.

• Shares of Mexico Energy Corp (MXC) jumped a mindblowing 121.92% today closing at $8.10/share after reaching an otherworldly $14.63/share on trading volume of 56.28M. No news has been released since the Midland, TX-based independent oil and gas company confirmed its fiscal 2020 earnings on June 26.

TOMORROW

The macroeconomic calendar will deliver the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report and Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index for June report.

WATCH LIST

• Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) closed at $4.15/share up 12.16%.

• • Interest continues to swell around both their breast cancer treatment and two COVID-19 drug programs.

  • ATOS’ stock has seen positive trading volatility this year and has moved up from $.76/share on significantly increasing trading volume and established a new 52-week high of $4.69/share.

  • Last week, The Maxim Group’s Analyst Jason McCarthy, Ph.D.mupdated his research on Atossa Therapeutics stating “Factoring in COVID-19 Candidates, awaiting HOPE Study Initiation as Pandemic Continues – Raising Price Target to $8 from $4″.

• • Last week, Atossa followed up on Thursday this week and announced that it has contracted with Avance Clinical Pty Ltd to conduct a clinical study of Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301, to be administered by nasal spray. Avance is a leading Australian clinical research organization and has successfully completed multiple clinical studies of Atossa’s proprietary Endoxifen.

• • Last week, ATOS reported successful results from in vitro testing of AT-301, Atossa’s proprietary COVID-19 nasal spray drug candidate. The preliminary study results show that AT-301 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infectivity of VERO cells in a laboratory culture, which is the standard disease model used for the initial screening of COVID-19 drug candidates. AT-301 is being developed with a nasal spray delivery mechanism because many COVID-19 patients are infected via the nasal passage. Collectively, the components of AT-301 are believed to help maintain a protective mucosal like layer within the nasal cavity with both anti-viral properties and protective mucosal like barrier that may lead to lower infectivity and reduced symptoms in COVID-19 patients due to their interference with the spike protein of the virus in the nasal cavity and upper respiratory tract. Atossa’s nasal spray formulation AT-301 is being designed to contain ingredients that can potentially block SARS-CoV-2 viral entry gene proteins in nasal epithelial cells by interfering with spike protein activation by host proteases, by masking receptor binding domains (RBD) via electrostatic mechanisms, and by providing a generalized mucoadhesive epithelial barrier.

• • Recently, ATOS announced that it hired key personnel in clinical, regulatory, and chemistry manufacturing and controls (CMC). The new hires include Heather Fraser, Ph.D., as vice president of clinical, regulatory, and CMC; Natalie Farris, MS, as senior director of CMC; and Devon Payne as director of clinical operations. “Hiring of these talented and accomplished individuals will help accelerate the advancement of our development pipeline, which includes programs in breast cancer and COVID-19. We welcome Heather, Natalie, and Devon to Atossa and look forward to their important contributions as we execute on our value-creation strategy,” commented Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., president, and CEO of Atossa.  

• • Dr. Quay was recently interviewed on FOX 26 Houston this week and the show was titled “Company developing nasal spray to treat COVID-19.” Again as I mentioned yesterday, I believe it is worth the time for all to view this story here as it sheds a great deal of light on the 4 stages of COVID-19 and their potential treatments.
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  • Dr. Quay has also recently published the following book “Your COVID-19 Survival Manual: A Physician’s Guide to Keep You and Your Family Healthy During the Pandemic and Beyond,” in paperback and eBook format on his website, www.DrQuay.com. Proceeds from the book will go to military veterans performing COVID-19 relief work in their communities.  You may order it here.

• • We are seeking to see if ATOS successfully advances one or both COVID-19 programs by receiving IRB and FDA approval to move in tot he clinic.

• Shares of Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed at $33,59/share down .71%, Its 52-week range is $12.59 – $38.52/share.

  • Fate is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders

  • July 14th, FATE announced that the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Baylor College of Medicine covering alloimmune defense receptors, a first-in-class approach that renders off-the-shelf allogeneic cell products resistant to host immune rejection. Preclinical studies published in the journal Nature Biotechnology (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-020-0601-5) demonstrate that allogeneic cells engineered with a novel alloimmune defense receptor (ADR) are protected from both T- and NK-cell mediated rejection, and provide proof-of-concept that ADR-expressing allogeneic cell therapies can durably persist in immunocompetent recipients.

  • On June 11th, FATE announced that it had closed an underwritten public offering of 7,108,796 shares of its common stock, which included 927,324 shares that were issued pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, at a public offering price of $28.31 per share. Aggregate gross proceeds from this offering, including the exercise of the option, were approximately $201.3 million, prior to deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. 

• Shares of Neubase Therapeutics (NBSE) closed at $7.94/share down 4.11% today after reaching a new 52-week high recently of $11.78/share.

  • RBC Capital Markets recently initiated coverage of NBSE today with an Outperform, Speculative Risk rating & a $16 price target. 

  • As we have been stating, we are following Neubase Therapeutics (NBSE) for a number of reasons including its development of a modular antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA) platform with the capability to address rare genetic disease caused by mutant proteins with a single, cohesive approach.

  • NBSE was added to the Russell 3000 recently.

• Shares of Aduro (ADRO) closed at $2.785/share today down 2.28% as their upward sloping chart over the past month continues to look good.

• • On June 2nd, Aduro Biotech, Inc.(ADRO) and Chinook Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Aduro will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Chinook in exchange for shares of Aduro common stock representing approximately 50 percent of Aduro’s outstanding common stock immediately following completion of the transaction. The combined company is expected to have approximately $200 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at closing, including $25 million in additional financing committed by Chinook’s existing investors. Following closing, which is expected to occur in the second half of 2020, Aduro will be renamed Chinook Therapeutics, Inc., and is expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “KDNY”.

• • Recently, ADRO announced that the first patient with IgA nephropathy has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial of BION-1301, an investigational humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody that blocks APRIL binding to both the BCMA and TACI receptors. “We are thrilled to have dosed the first patient with IgA nephropathy in the Phase 1 clinical study of our investigational anti-APRIL antibody, BION-1301,” said Dimitry S.A. Nuyten, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of Aduro. “The data Aduro recently presented from Parts 1 and 2 of this study in healthy volunteers at the 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress indicated BION-1301 was well-tolerated, had a half-life of approximately 33 days, achieved over 90% target engagement with a single 450 mg dose of BION-1301 and demonstrated dose-dependent and durable reductions in IgA and IgM levels, and to a lesser extent, IgG levels. We look forward to hopefully replicating this effect in addition to exploring BION-1301’s disease-modifying potential in patients with IgA nephropathy in Part 3 of the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study.”

• Shares of INVO Bioscience (INVO) closed at $4.80/share down .21% (Up ~27% the last 3 days.)

• • Industry forecasts suggest that only 1% to 2% of the estimated 150 million infertile couples worldwide are currently being treated

• • INVO’s mission is to increase access to care and expand infertility treatment across the globe with a goal of improving patient affordability and industry capacity. 

• • Last week, INVO announced that it took a key step forward as they have received product registration approval for INVOcell in Turkey, paving the way for commercialization efforts to begin in the country. “We are pleased to have achieved this important registration approval for Turkey which enables our distribution partner, Orcan Medical, to now begin commercialization efforts in the country. Similar to other regions around the world, the people of Turkey are faced with increased infertility rates and challenges to receiving treatment, including access to care and the cost of treatment. As the world’s only Intravaginal Culture System, INVOcell, a streamlined treatment solution, is uniquely positioned to address the challenges within the infertility industry,” stated Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience. READ the rest of the story.

  • I am expecting to see the company push forward with new market supportive initiatives as they have recently been fueled up by financing that may result in further adoption in the US clinics and establishing new joint ventures, partners, and distributors throughout the world.

  • During the period from Q4, 2019 to Q1 2020, after Steve Shum became the new CEO of INVO Bioscience, INVO signed up 6 distributors and/or Joint Venture relationships in the following countries: Turkey, Jordan, India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, & Uganda. Per recent discussions with Steve Shum, the registration process in countries is typically in the 6-month range. As evidenced today INVO is making progress per the successful registration approval in Turkey that it is reasonable to assume that they may be making progress along the same lines in the other 5 countries signed during that period. I am also expecting the company to give us some updates on other countries that could be added to their growing distribution network.

• Shares of TransEnterix (TRXC) closed trading at $.3629/share down 3.54% today (+~7% over the last two days.)

• • TRXC is a medical device company that is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and the patient to improve minimally invasive surgery.

• • On Monday, July 6th TRXC announced the closing of $15M registered direct common share offering at $.35/share and came into focus on our radar as it is again “gassed up” for the time being.

• • TRXC shares swiftly came down from the $1 level prior to the deal that was priced at $.35/share (no warrants) as it would appear that shorting and/or a significant amount of selling took place prior to the closing of the funding.

• • TRXC shares have already bounced once post the recent funding from the $.30 cent range to above the $.42 cent level and if the last couple of days stock performance is any evidence then it could be at least heading back to the same level soon and if lucky could recover to predeal levels.

Economic Reports

• On Monday & Tuesday, we did not receive any reports.
• On Wednesday, we received the existing home sales report which jumped 20.7% month/month in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million as the inventory of existing homes continues to be tight. The FHFA Housing Price Index report for July dropped .3%. The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index rose 4.1%.

Investing & Inspiration

“The entrance strategy is actually more important than the exit strategy.” – Edward Lampert

“The rivers don’t drink their own water; Trees don’t eat their own fruits. The sun does not shine for itself, And flowers do not spread their fragrance For themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature” – PopeFrancis

“It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different from the majority.” – John Templeton

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin.

“I believe the returns on investment in the poor are just as exciting as successes achieved in the business arena, and they are even more meaningful!” -Bill Gates

“Every portfolio benefits from bonds; they provide a cushion when the stock market hits a rough patch. But avoiding stocks completely could mean your investment won’t grow any faster than the rate of inflation.” – Suze Orman

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility, and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy

“If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.
-George Bernard Shaw

“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.
I get up at 4:30 in the morning, seven days a week, no matter where I am in the world. I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately. What I’ve really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.” Bob Iger, Ceo of Disney

“There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.”-Ed Seykota

“Let this scenario play out on its own, in its own fashion. As you watch it unfold, you will soon be grateful that you choose the peaceful path. Remember — those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game.” -Jim Cramer

“I rarely think the market is right. I believe non-dividend stocks aren’t much more than baseball cards. They are worth what you can convince someone to pay for it.” -Mark Cuban

“Michael Marcus taught me one other thing that is absolutely critical: You have to be willing to make mistakes regularly; there is nothing wrong with it. Michael taught me about making your best judgment, being wrong, making your next best judgment, being wrong, making your third best judgment, and then doubling your money.” -Bruce Kovner

“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru

“The only true test of whether a stock is “cheap” or “high” is not its current price in relation to some former price, no matter how accustomed we may have become to that former price, but whether the company’s fundamentals are significantly more or less favorable than the current financial-community appraisal of that stock.” -Philip Fisher

“I learned to avoid trying to catch up or double up to recoup losses. I also learned that a certain amount of loss will affect your judgment, so you have to put some time between that loss and the next trade.” -Richard Dennis

“The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different.” -Sir John Templeton

“Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger