Market Momentum Continues On Thursday – Upwork, Qualcomm, NIO Charge Higher

The markets jumped once again for the fourth straight day as investors piled more dollars into equities this week even though they still wait to know when and who will be the next president. The Fed continued to do its part to support market growth as it released its FOMC policy statement leaving the fed funds rate unchanged while committing to the current pace of asset purchases.

The macroeconomic schedule produced a few reports of significance as the initial jobless claims report confirmed a drop by 7k for the week ending October 31 to 751k while the continuing claims report for the week ending October 24 confirmed a drop by 538k to 7.285M. Productivity in Q3 also rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9% while unit labor costs dropped by 8.9%.

The S&P 500 closed at 3,510.45 (+1.95%) now bouncing back ~+7.4% this week after the nearly 10% recent correction. The Dow 30 closed at 28,390.18 (+1.95%) & the tech heavy Nasdaq closed at 11,890.93 (+2.59%). The small caps on the Russell 2000 also joined the party moving higher closing at 1,660.05 (+2.78%).

10 of eleven S&P 500 sectors finished in the green with only the energy sector ticking lower by -.04% as oil prices pulled back to $38.75/bbl down -1.1%. Dow 30 component and energy giant Chevron (CVX) closed at $72.14/share up .52%.

The information technology sector flew up 3.1% as the FAANGs enjoyed another great day ending as follows:  Apple (AAPL) ($119.03, +3.55%), Amazon (AMZN) ($3,322, +2.49%), Alphabet (GOOG) ($1,763.37, +5.81%), Facebook (FB) ($294.68, +2.54%) & Netflix (NFLX) closed at $513.76/share up 3.38%.

Qualcomm (QCOM) closed at $145.41, +12.8% after reporting strong earnings report and giving improved guidance.

Freelance work facilitator Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK) jumped 43.57% to close at $29.03/share as they reported that evenue grew 24% year-over-year to $96.7 million, exceeding guidance, marketplace revenue grew 26% year-over-year to $88.0 million, & marketplace take rate improved from 13.3% to 13.6% year-over-year.

EV manufacturer Tesla (TSLA) closed at $438.09/share +4.06% & Chinese EV concern NIO Limited (NIO) kept up its recently ridiculous momentum ways as it closed at $42.35/share popping up another 12.30% after establishing yet another new all-time high of $42.49 today. Leading provider of zero emission hydrogen engines and fueling solutions, Plug Power (PLUG), closed $18.84/share up 13.04%. 

Precious metals rose significantly today. Gold closed at $1,947 (+41) while silver closed at $25.22/oz (+1.2). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) closed at $5.52/share (+15.72%). HL’s 52-week range is $1.40 – $6.79. Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD) closed at $29.32/share up 6.93%. 

The 2-yr US treasury yield closed even at .15% while the 10-yr yield rose 1 basis point to end at .78%. The U.S. Dollar Index weakened closing at 92.58. 

TOMORROW

Tomorrow’s macroeconomic calendar will deliver the Employment Situation Report for October, the Consumer Credit report for September, & the Wholesale Inventories report for September.

WATCH LIST

• Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) closed at $1.60/share +3.9% on the day. 
  • Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19, recently announced it has now completed enrollment in its Phase 1 clinical study using Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301 administered by nasal spray. “Completing enrollment is a significant milestone and comes at a time when we are seeing a new wave if infections in certain geographies and an increased focus on developing therapies to treat COVID-19,” commented Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and CEO. “While the virus presents significant danger overall, the vast majority of people testing positive for COVID-19 do not require hospitalization and instead quarantine at home while they manage their symptoms and attempt not to infect those around them. As there are no currently FDA-approved treatments to help these patients, we are developing AT-301 for at home use so that they can recover faster.”

• Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (FATE) closed at $49.2/share +.21% today.
  • Fate is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders.

• • Today Fate reported business highlights and financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020. Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics stated, “The clinical data across our iPSC product platform continue to solidify our conviction that multiple doses of iPSC-derived NK cells can be administered off-the-shelf in the outpatient setting, are well-tolerated, and can drive anti-tumor activity, including in combination with monoclonal antibody therapy. We have now expanded the scope of clinical investigation for FT516 to solid tumors as well as for FT596 to chronic lymphocytic leukemia after observing clinical activity in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma at the first dose level. In addition, we have initiated first-in-human investigation of the first-ever CRISPR-edited, iPSC-derived cell therapy FT538, which incorporates three engineered elements to enhance multiple mechanisms of innate immunity, in acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma.”

• Shares of NeuBase Therapeutics (NBSE) closed at $7.94/share -4.22% after recently reaching a new 52-week high recently of $11.78/share.
  • NeuBase is developing the next generation of gene silencing therapies with its flexible, highly specific synthetic antisense oligonucleotides. The proprietary NeuBase peptide-nucleic acid (PNA) antisense oligonucleotide (PATrOL™) platform allows for the rapid development of targeted drugs, increasing the treatment opportunities for the hundreds of millions of people affected by rare genetic diseases, including those that can only be treated through accessing of secondary RNA structures. Using PATrOL technology, NeuBase aims to first tackle rare, genetic neurological disorders. NeuBase is continuing its progress towards developing treatment candidates in Huntington’s Disease (HD) and Myotonic Dystrophy (DM1.)

• • You can view NBSE’s CEO Dietrich Stephan Ph.D. as he delivered a presentation at a Tribe Public Event titled “Manufacturing Heat-Seeking Missiles Against Misbehaving”.

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

• Shares of INVO Bioscience (INVO) closed at $3.60/share, -1.37%.
  • INVO is a medical device company focused on creating alternative treatments for patients diagnosed with infertility and developers of INVOcell®, the world’s only in vivo Intravaginal Culture System. 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. Since January 2019, INVO Bioscience has signed commercialization agreements in the United States, India, as well as parts of Africa and Eurasia and Mexico for the INVOcell device.

• • INVO recently announced that it has teamed up with Dr. Francisco Arredondo, MD, a respected and experienced board certified reproductive endocrinologist, and Dr. Ramiro Ramirez, MD, a physician and owner of several successful enterprises in Mexico, to establish a joint venture through its wholly-owned subsidiary INVO Centers, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“INVO Centers”), focusing on developing the Mexico market for INVOcell. The new jointly-owned operation, named Positib Fertility, S.A. de C.V. (“Positib Fertility”), is a Mexico registered company that will focus on establishing fertility centers dedicated to offering INVOcell, with the initial center to be located in the city of Monterrey, Mexico.

Economic Reports

• On Monday we received the ISM Manufacturing Index for October which came in at 59.3% surprisingly well above the expansion level. The total construction spending report also confirmed a move higher by .3% month/month in September while total private construction spending also jumped .9% month/month but total public construction spending decrease by 1.7%.

• On Tuesday, the factory orders report for manufactured goods which confirmed a rise by 1.1% month/month in September, a rise for the fifth consecutive month.

• On Wednesday, The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index report for October which came in  at 56.6% again well above the expansion line. The trade deficit report for September came in at $63.9B as export growth was $4.4B & import growth  was $1.2B. The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index dropped 3.8%. The ADP Employment Change report for October estimated that 365k jobs were added.

• On Thursday, the initial jobless claims report confirmed a drop by 7k for the week ending October 31 to 751k while the continuing claims report for the week ending October 24 confirmed a drop by 538k to 7.285M. Productivity in Q3 also rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9% while unit labor costs dropped by 8.9%.

Investing & Inspiration

“Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results” — Warren Buffett

“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” – Warren Buffett

“Thousands of experts study overbought indicators, head-and-shoulder patterns, put-call ratios, the Fed’s policy on money supply…and they can’t predict markets with any useful consistency, any more than the gizzard squeezers could tell the Roman emperors when the Huns would attack.” – Peter Lynch

“Investing puts money to work. The only reason to save money is to invest it.” – Grant Cardone

“You cannot save time for your future use however you can invest time for your future.” – John F. Heerdink, Jr. 

“Know what you own, and know why you own it.” – Peter Lynch

“Liquidity is only there when you don’t need it.” -Old Proverb

“If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.” – Richard Branson

“Fear incites human action far more urgently than does the impressive weight of historical evidence.” – Jeremy Siegel

“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott

“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.” – Charlie Munger

“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” – Pope Francis

“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

“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