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FAANG Stocks Push Nasdaq to New Highs Ahead of Fed’s Meeting

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.

Tuesday markets saw somewhat of a selloff across a number of sectors putting pressure on the Dow, S&P 500, and the Russell 2000 which all closed down. In contrast, the FAANG stocks surged pushing the NASDAQ to a new closing high as it rose .29% closing at 9,953.75 and is now knocking on the 10k level door. The information technology sector moved up another .5%, 1% for the week, as the popular FAANG stocks ended as follows: Facebook (FB) closed at $238.67/share up 3.14%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,600.86 rising +3.04%,  Apple (AAPL) closed at $343.99/share up by 3.16%, Netflix (NFLX) gained 3.47% closing at $434.05]/share, & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,456.16/share up by .66%. The sectors that led to the decline of the balance of the indices were as follows: energy dropped 3.6%, industrials fell 2.5% & financials lost 2.1%.

The S&P 500 closed down .78% at 3,207.18 despite the ~20% weighting of the FAANGS. The Dow also dropped 1.09% & the Russell 2000 lost 1.94% cooling off from its recent run as investors wait for the Fed’s interest rate decision tomorrow. 

Oil got back to its recent winning ways moving up 1.8% to close at $38.92/bbl today. Energy leaders Chevron (CVX) closed at $101.53/share down 1.66%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $53.52/sharedown 2.23% & Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $23.18/share down 5% after moving up ~40% in the previous five days. 

On the macroeconomic front, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index report for May confirmed a rise to 94.9 from 90.9 in April. The April job openings report showed a decline to 5.046M. The Wholesale inventories report showed a rise of .3% in April.

Here are the following June dates for Russell indices inclusion for 2020:

  • June 12 & 19 – US index add & delete lists (reflecting any updates) posted to the FTSE Russell website after 6 PM US eastern time.
  • June 15 – “lock down” period begins – US index adds & delete lists are considered final
  • June 26 – Russell Reconstitution is final after the close of the US equity markets.
  • June 29 – equity markets open with the newly reconstituted Russell US Indexes.

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,  but it also because it may be added to a Russell index this month. Shares of NBSE closed at $7.49/share off of its recent new all-time high of $9.63/share.

The 2-yr US treasury yield dropped 2 basis points closing at .20% & the 10-yr yield dropped 6 basis points ending at .83%. The U.S. Dollar Index continued to weaken dropping another by .2% to end at 96.42. 

Gold prices ended at $1,683/oz (-28) while silver prices closed at $17.59/oz (-.40). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) closed at $3.16/share down 4.53% while First Majestic Silver (AG) lost 1.51% closing at $9.77/share.

MOVERS

Here’s a couple of other equities that moved significantly higher today:

  • Shares of the Australian biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral immunotherapeutics for the prevention and treatment of gut mediated pathogens, Immuron Limited (NASDAQ: IMRN), closed at $20/share up a monstrous 809.09% after their partner NMRC requests a Pre-IND meeting with the FDA on the development of a new oral therapeutic targeting Campylobacter and ETEC.  
  • Shares of INVO Bioscience (INVO) (INVOD) shot up to an intraday high of $3.89/share prior to closing at $3.49/share up a whopping 48.08%. INVO was recently funded and saw their 1-20 reverse split take effect Tuesday, May 26 and the stock subsequently pulled all the way back to below $2. The stock is now trading under the symbol INVOD until June 22nd. They now have ~7.8M shares in this newly minted low or tight float play. INVO Bioscience’s INVOcell® is a patented medical device used in infertility treatment and is considered an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Currently, it is estimated that only 1% to 2% of the estimated 150 million infertile couples worldwide are being treated, but help is on the wayRecently, The Morning Blend aired an interview on WTMJ-4 Milwaukee where Dr. Ellen Hayes, a Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist from Vios Fertility Institute, discussed information regarding their new research in health, pregnancy, and COVID19. Dr. Hayes also shares their research and a new offering of INVO Bioscience’s  (INVO) FDA cleared infertility treatment called INVOcell The INVOcell technology, which continues to gain worldwide recognition and adoption, provides an in-vivo incubation solution that can help increase access and capacity to the large underserved global fertility market. The INVO Procedure is a revolutionary in vivo method of vaginal incubation that offers patients a more natural and intimate experience and more cost-effective. For the rest of 2020 Vios Fertility Institute is giving a special offer for InVoCell. The offer includes retrieval, monitoring, fresh embryo transfer for $6500, it normally costs $7200, which is still significantly less expensive than traditional lab-intensive IVF. Please watch the concise interview by clicking this link now! 
  • Shares of Fate Therapeutics (FATE) shot up to $35.77/share in intraday trading prior to closing at $32.72/share up 15.58%. Fate Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders that announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 6,181,562 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $28.31 per share, before underwriting discounts, for an aggregate offering of approximately $175 million. Fate Therapeutics has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 927,234 shares of its common stock. The proceeds to Fate Therapeutics from this offering are expected to be approximately $164.2 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses but excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ option.

 

TOMORROW

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

  • The FOMC Rate Decision
  • The Consumer Price Index for May
  • The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index

WATCH LIST

  • Keep an eye on INVO Bioscience (INVO) which was recently funded and saw their 1-20 reverse split take effect Tuesday, May 26. The stock is trading under the symbol INVOD until June 22nd. They now have ~7.8M shares in this newly minted low or tight float play. Expect volatility as we wait for news from the company in the near term. 
  • Shares of Atossa Therapeutics (ATOS) closed at $3.19/share today. ATOS has approximately 9.2M shares issued and outstanding which placed it in the low-float category and hit a $3.48 52-week high last week after touching $.76 in the market downturn in March of this year. I am looking for Atossa to possibly hit us with further news regarding their now 2 COVID-19 treatment programs as early as this week. Recently ATOS announced the successful results from in vitro testing of AT-H201, Atossa’s proprietary COVID-19 drug candidate, and are seeking IRB and FDA approval to move into the clinic. ATOS also recently announced that it has begun the development of a second COVID-19 program using its proprietary drug candidate AT-301, to be administered by nasal spray as is teaming with nasal spray specialist firm Summit Biosciences. AT-301 is Atossa’s proprietary formula intended for nasal administration in patients immediately following a diagnosis of COVID-19 but who have not yet exhibited symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization. Atossa confirmed that it is intended for at-home use to proactively reduce symptoms of COVID-19 and to slow the infection rate so that a person’s immune system can more effectively fight SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus). Atossa also intends to conduct testing to determine whether AT-301 can be used as a prophylaxis to prevent or mitigate SARS-CoV-2, with the goal that it could become a “bridge to the vaccine” and be useful in the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, the CEO of Atossa, Physician-Scientist Dr. Steven Quay, MD, Ph.D. vowed to make his new book titled “Your COVID-19 Survival Manual: A Physician’s Guide to Keep You and Your Family Healthy During the Pandemic and Beyond,” available through his website, with proceeds supporting military veterans performing COVID-19 relief work in their communities, after the Amazon Kindle Store removed it three Days before its official launch. This 158-page eBook is chock-full of lifesaving tips you can’t find anywhere else to help you and your family stay safe while sheltering-in-place, as well as how to get back to life in the coming weeks and months. Learn how you can get your hands on it today.

 

Economic Reports

  • On Monday, we did not receive any significant reports.
  • On Tuesday, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index report for May confirmed a rise to 94.9 from 90.9 in April. The April job openings report showed a decline to 5.046M from a revised 6.011M in March. The Wholesale inventories report showed a rise of .3% in April.

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 provide the following:

  • The FOMC Rate Decision
  • The Consumer Price Index for May
  • The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index

Videos

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