Monday’s Market Clocks in With Nasdaq Record High, Tesla’s Double Digit Day, Sanofi’s $3.7B Biotech Bonanza & NAHB Housing Market Index All-Time High

The Dow 30 sort of took the day off today as it closed at 27,844.91 ticking down .31%, however, the Nasdaq jumped 1% to achieve a new record high closing at 11,129.73. The S&P 50o closed at 3,381.99 up .27% near a new record high & the Russell 2000 closed 1,585.47 up .48%. Around the horn, the information technology sector moved up .07%, the consumer discretionary sector moved up 1.2%, the real estate sector moved up .9%, & the health care sector edged up .6% to lead the day as the financials sector down 1.5% & the energy sector .6% dragged behind all sectors.

Assisting the Nasdaq’s move today was Tesla (TSLA) which powered upward another 11.20% higher closing at $1,835.64/share while touching a new record high of $1,845.86. It would seem the world and investors cannot get enough Elon Musk’s electric car company these days as there seems as if it cannot be stopped. Santa Clara-based chipmaker and another darling of the Robinhood investor crowd, NVIDIA (NVDA), also closed at $493.48, up a delicious 6.7% today. It now sports a $300B market cap as it continues to leave Dow 30 component Intel (INTC) (~+$200B market cap) further in its rearview mirror while we wait for NVDA to report on Wednesday. Intel may be a sneaky call option play at these levels if you give your self a little time.

The ever popular FAANG stocks had a mixed session closing as follows:  Facebook (FB) closed at $261.16/share down .03%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $3,182.41/share up 1.09%, Apple (AAPL) closed at $4658.43/share ticking down .26%, Netflix (NFLX) lost .07% closing at $482.35/share & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,517.98/share up .68%. 

There were two notables from the Dow 30 reported today beating expectations as Home Depot (HD) closed at $288.24 up 2.7%, & Walmart (WMT) closed at $135.60 up 2.3%. They were both record highs to boot.

Sanofi (SNY) announced that it is buying US immune system focused biotech firm Principia Biopharma for $100/share or $3.68B in cash. They have been cooperating on autoimmune diseases and particularly on a multiple sclerosis treatment referred to as “BTK inhibitor ‘168. Money and deals to continue to grow the width and depth of drug development pipelines are definitely in the cards for the cash blessed “Sanofi’s” of the world these days as a sort of biotech buying bonanza is in play currently. 

The macroeconomic schedule also produced a couple of relatively interesting reports on Monday. The NAHB Housing Market Index intriguingly rose to an all-time high of 78 in August as demand for new single-family homes continues to increase. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey for August however went down to 3.7.

Gold moved closer to the $2k level again today as it closed at $1,986(+42) while silver also moved higher as it closed at $27.61/oz (+1.07). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) closed at $6.37/share +5.46% after recently establishing another new 52-week high of $6.79/share during intraday trading. HL’s 52-week low is $1.38.  Recently, Hecla reported 24% higher revenues on higher production and prices in Q2 2020. Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Mike Kizak updated his coverage moving his Speculative Buy rating to a Buy rating and moving his target price to $7.25/share. North American silver producer First Majestic Silver (AG) closed at $12.16/share up 4.02% after recently establishing a new 52-week high of $14.57 recently. On Aug. 6th, AG reported that revenues had declined to $34.9M representing a decrease of 58% in response to COVID-19 and the decision to stockpile metal inventory in an effort to maximize future profits. 

WTI crude futures gained 2.2%, or $0.89, to $42.94/bbl.

Oil prices rose 2.2% closing at $42.94/bbl. A few energy leaders closed as follows: Chevron (CVX) closed at $90.77/share up .46%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $42.64/share down 1.3% & highly leveraged Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $13.90share down 4.99%. Midstream player, Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), closed trading at $18.89/share up .21% and is currently sporting an attractive $1.78/share dividend or 9.44% while USA Corporation Partners, LP. (USAC), one of the nation’s largest independent providers of natural gas compression services, closed at $11.77/share down 2.4% while offering a $2.10/share (17.33%) dividend.

The 2-yr US treasury yield closed up 2 basis points at .15% while the 10-yr yield dropped 3 basis points to close at .68%. The U.S. Dollar Index weakened by .3% to end at 92.81.

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

BIG MOVERS

• Shares of Barrick Gold (GOLD) closed at $30.13/share up 11.6% today after it was widely reported that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire had invested in a stake now worth ~+$600M while cutting his positions in major banks in Q2. i.e JP Morgan(JPM).

• Shares of alternative energy technology, i.e. hydrogen fuel systems,  Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) closed up 7.02% today at 12.20/share as it continues its move post the ~$300M equity raise at $10.25/share recently.

• Shares of Comstock Mining (LODE) closed trading up 83.54% at $1.45/share after reaching a new 52-week high of $2.12/share after announcing their Q2 2020 results.

TOMORROW

The macroeconomic calendar will deliver the following point:

• The Housing Starts Report for July
• The Building Permits report for July

WATCH LIST

Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) closed at $3.71/share flat on the day after recently reaching a new 52-wk high of $5.08.

• • 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 $5.08/share on August 3rd when Atossa announced that it has received approval from the ethics committee to open a Phase 1 clinical study in Australia using Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301, to be administered by nasal spray. All necessary approvals have now been obtained and enrollment is expected to begin in the next 30 days.\

  • Today, Atossa announced that it has enrolled and dosed the first cohort of healthy participants in the Phase 1 clinical study using its proprietary drug candidate AT-301, being administered by nasal spray. This group of 8 participants received a single dose of either AT-301A (placebo) or AT-301B (active). Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and CEO stated, “Advancing our COVID-19 drug candidates through clinical studies as quickly as possible is our highest priority. We are very encouraged by the high level of interest in this study and the speed at which we enrolled this first group of participants. Our novel nasal spray drug candidate is being developed to provide a unique protective mucosal barrier with anti-viral properties within the nasal cavity, hopefully leading to lower infectivity and reduced symptoms in COVID-19 patients. If this can slow virus proliferation sufficiently to allow the patient to mount a strong, natural immune response AT-301 could significantly impact the current public health options for controlling COVID-19. We look forward to quickly completing enrollment of all cohorts in this potentially important study.” Learn more.

• • Last week, Atossa announced its Q2 2020 financial results and gave a corporate update highlighting the following: 
    • Received approval from the Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) to open a Phase 1 clinical study in Australia using Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301 administered by nasal spray. As of August 3, 2020, all necessary approvals were obtained and enrollment is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
    • Contracted with Avance Clinical Pty. Ltd. to conduct a clinical study of Atossa’s AT-301. Avance is a leading Australian clinical research organization and has successfully completed multiple clinical studies of Atossa’s proprietary Endoxifen.
    • Announced successful in vitro testing of both of Atossa’s COVID-19 therapies under development: AT-301 and AT-H201. The preliminary study results show that AT-301 and the components of AT-H201 inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infectivity of VERO cells in a laboratory culture, which is the standard disease model used for initial screening of COVID-19 drug candidates.
    • Announced interim findings following 18 months of an Expanded Access (or “compassionate use”) single-patient study of Endoxifen. The patient in the study had no cancer recurrence and suffered no side effects. Endoxifen did not cause other safety and tolerability concerns in this patient.
    • Advanced product development programs with multiple key hires in clinical, regulatory, and chemistry manufacturing and controls. The hiring of these talented and highly accomplished individuals will help accelerate the advancement of Atossa’s development pipeline, which includes programs in breast cancer and COVID-19.
    • Completed sales of all available shares under Atossa’s at-the-market financing program with total gross proceeds to Atossa of $5 million through July 2020. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had approximately $7.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and with this program, they received an additional $4.3 million in July 2020.

• • Dr. Steven Quay MD, Ph.D., Atossa’s founder, and CEO, 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 into the clinic.

• Shares of Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed at $35.52/share up 3.23%. 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. 

  • On Aug. 5, Fate Reported Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Highlights Operational Progress ending the quarter with $533 Million in Cash & Short-term Investments. Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics stated, “Early clinical data from our FT596 program are very encouraging, as we observed a partial response in a heavily-pretreated patient with refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma at the first dose level without any reported events of cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity or graft-versus-host disease. Additionally, the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity data across our off-the-shelf NK cell programs continue to suggest that multiple doses of iPSC-derived NK cells can be administered to a patient without matching. We continue to be pleased with our pace of innovation, where the recent clearances of our IND applications by the FDA for FT538, the first-ever CRISPR-edited iPSC-derived cell therapy, and for FT819, the first-ever iPSC-derived CAR T-cell therapy, continue to demonstrate our unique ability to rapidly bring multiplexed engineered, off-the-shelf NK cell and T-cell cancer immunotherapies to patients. In addition, we successfully launched our Janssen collaboration with strong momentum, bringing together Janssen’s proprietary tumor-targeting antigen binders and our industry-leading iPSC product platform to develop novel off-the-shelf CAR NK and CAR T-cell immunotherapies for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.”

  • 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 $8.40/share up 3.07% today after recently 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. 

  •  

  • NBSE recently reported its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended June 30, 2020. Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D., chief executive officer of NeuBase stated, “We are pleased with the continued execution of our development programs during 2020. This includes the announcement in late-March of compelling data that firmly validates our platform as a viable fully synthetic approach to genetic medicine. Notably, these data confirm that our therapies penetrate into the brain when administered systemically – overcoming one of the grand challenges of drug delivery. PATrOL-enabled compounds can also access tissues throughout the entire body, opening our platform up to unexplored indications that have not previously been accessible by genetic medicine technologies. These positive pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data-position our unique technology to output a vast pipeline of therapeutics to resolve innumerable human diseases. We anticipate presenting additional new data with respect to our ongoing progress in the fourth calendar quarter of this year. A key objective for our company shortly after the March data announcement was to strengthen our balance sheet in order to fully advance our strategies in HD and DM1, and build out our pipeline. This was accomplished in April with the closing of our oversubscribed capital raise of approximately $33.3 million in net proceeds that was led by fundamental healthcare investors and significantly increased our institutional shareholder base. We expect this to support our R&D and general corporate expenses into the second calendar quarter of 2022.”

• Shares of Aduro (ADRO) closed at $2.56/share today up 6.67%.

• • On August 3rd, provided a business update and reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Aduro stated, “The second quarter of 2020 was highlighted by the announcement of our planned merger with Chinook Therapeutics as well as significant progress in our BION-1301 program for IgA nephropathy (IgAN). We recently dosed the first IgAN patient with BION-1301 in Part 3 of our ongoing Phase 1 study and presented positive data from Parts 1 and 2 of this study in healthy volunteers at the 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress. The data 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 continue to enroll patients in our Phase 2 study of ADU-S100 in combination with pembrolizumab in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and make progress on our cGAS-STING antagonist research collaboration with Lilly. We ended the second quarter of 2020 with a cash position of $186.1 million, which we believe will enable us to continue our ongoing STING and APRIL programs in the near-term and also meet our net cash requirements at the close of the merger with Chinook.” =

• • 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”.

• Shares of INVO Bioscience (INVO) closed at $3.54/share.

• • 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 financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Steve Shum, Chief Executive Officer of INVO Bioscience stated, “Despite the impact that COVID-19 has had in delaying fertility treatment for many around the world, we continue to make strong progress on our key goals to create commercialization agreements for our INVOcell solution. As we have been advancing our commercialization efforts outside the United States, industry leaders, as well as our internal team, have begun to recognize the expanded opportunity that exists through the creation of these joint ventures for developing dedicated, INVO-only centers in the U.S. and select markets around the world. The INVO center model also allows INVO Bioscience to participate in a greater share of the economics. Over the past year, we have had a number of conversations that started as standard distribution agreements that have evolved into potential joint venture agreements. We believe such partnerships, such as the one signed in India, will ultimately be mutually beneficial to achieving our goal to increase access to care and lower the cost of fertility treatment across the globe. Similar to the first quarter of 2020, the second quarter 2020 results were impacted by the COVID-19 virus outbreak which resulted in reduced product sales to Ferring. A majority of clinics curtailed their fertility services in connection with the lockdowns that occurred. Many of the clinics have since resumed operations, albeit at a measured pace. As a result, and along with Ferring’s required annual minimums, we expect to experience stronger sales in the second half of 2020. We also believe that new guidelines that requiring limiting interactions and social distancing at most clinics could favor accelerated adoption of our technology, which allows for a more streamlined cycle approach with fewer patient visits and reduced lab requirements and resources.”

  • Recently, a spotlight report was published by Birmingham, Alabama-based America Institute of Reproductive Medicine (AIRM) highlighting the success achieved in their practice utilizing INVOcell. INVO’s INVOcell® is the world’s only in vivo Intravaginal Culture System. “The AIRM clinic became an early adopter and advocate for the use of INVOcell shortly after we received FDA-clearance. We appreciate their willingness to share their story of that successful implementation of INVOcell within their clinical practice, which highlights important aspects of our INVOcell technology solution,” stated Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience. You can review the report here.

  • I am expecting to see the company push forward with new market supportive initiatives in the back half of 2020 that may result in further adoption in the US clinics and establishing new joint ventures, partners, and distributors throughout the world.

  • Tiny Float – INVO has ~7.89 million shares outstanding and with ~+15% insider ownership the share float is tight and recently confirmed that the company raised ~$3.5M.

Economic Reports

• On Monday, we received the NAHB Housing Market Index intriguingly rose to an all-time high of 78 in August as demand for new single-family homes continues to increase. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey for August however went down to 3.7.

Investing & Inspiration

“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

“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