“A Bit Of A Slide But Carnival, Neubase & Pinterest Rise” – Vista’s Daily – April 7, 2020

Tuesday in all fairness was a bit of a slide in the markets. We reached the top mark of the day within minutes of the open as the Dow was up 900 points. Monday’s momentum had carried us forward and Asia and European markets experienced a positive move overnight too based on improving COVID-19 reports from their neck of the woods, but it would not last. The US markets proceeded to slide throughout the day into the close. Talks about worldwide coronavirus cases continuing to climb to a number north of 1.3 million with +74,000 fatalities along with further stimulus measures that needed to be put into place in the $1 trillion range, began to consume the markets again and they were dragged down. At the end of the day, the S&P 500 closed down -.16%. The materials and energy sectors led all sectors and closed respectively up +2.4% & +2% but six of the eleven sectors ended in the red. The Dow closed lower by -.12%, the Nasdaq lost -.33% & the Russell 2000 eeked out a win by +.03%.

The FAANG stocks’ results were mixed today. Facebook (FB) closed at $168.83/share, gaining +1.98%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,011.60/share, up by +.7%, Apple (AAPL) closed at $259.43/share losing -1.16%, Netflix (NFLX) dropped -2.02% closing $372.28/share, & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,186.51/share losing -.03%.

Oil prices pulled back again today by -9.3% closing at $23.78/bbl as OPEC has delayed its “production cut” meeting until later this week.  Chevron (CVX) closed at $80.92/share up +.66% & Exxon (XOM) closed at $41.24/share up by +1.90% after announcing that it would be cutting their capital spending plans by 30% in 2020.

The 2-yr yield declined by .02 basis points to .268% & the 10-yr yield moved higher by 6 basis points to .74%. The U.S. Dollar Index weakened -.8% to 99.88.  

Gold prices closed lower at 1,657/oz, silver prices dropped to $15.23/oz.

We received the following significant economic reports:

• The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Report confirmed a drop to 96.4 in March 
• The Job openings report confirmed a drop to 6.882 million in February
• The Consumer credit report confirmed that it moved higher by $22.3 billion in February 

Shares of Pinterest (PINS) jumped to $17/share or +12.88% in the aftermarket today after they released preliminary results ahead of its Q1 earnings call in May. They now expect revenue ranging from $269 – $272 million in Q1 with 365M – 367M global monthly active users. Pinterest confirmed that it has $1.7B in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities and no debt but also confirmed that their global advertising revenue has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and so they have withdrawn their full-year 2020 guidance.

Shares of Neubase Therapeutics (NBSE) rose to $7.56/share prior to closing at $7.25/share up +3.25% today. Neubase recently announced positive preclinical data from its pharmacokinetics studies in non-human primates (“NHPs”) and in vitro pharmacodynamics data in patient-derived cell lines. NeuBase believes these data validate the key advantages of the proprietary NeuBase peptide-nucleic acid (“PNA”) antisense oligonucleotide (PATrOL™) platform and support the Company’s decision to advance the development of its Huntington’s disease (“HD”) and myotonic dystrophy type 1 (“DM1”) programs, as well as the potential expansion of its therapeutic pipeline into other indications. Dr. George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and member of the National Academy of Sciences, stated, “Given the activity and broad biodistribution observed in these studies and the potential for easier target definition, I believe the PATrOL™ technology may have a potent impact on the future of drug development and treatment of genetic diseases.”

Shares of troubled cruise ship operator Carnival Corporation (CCL) rose to as high as $12.95/share (+20%) during intraday trading before closing at $11.30/share up +1o.68% as the Saudi sovereign wealth fund confirmed an 8.2% stake today.

Economic Reports

On Monday, we did receive any significant economic reports.

On Tuesday, we received the following significant economic reports: The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Report confirmed a drop to 96.4 in March, the Job Openings Report confirmed a drop to 6.882 million in February, & the Consumer credit report confirmed that it moved higher by $22.3 billion in February. 

Investing & Inspiration

“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

Tomorrow

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

• The weekly MBA Mortgage Index Report