Nasdaq Soars Into Positive YTD Territory While Fastly (FSLY) Reports Thriving In Shutdown

We now have seen more than 3,784,084 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world with 1,255,685 cases that have recovered and more than 264k worldwide deaths. In the US, we have 1.283M confirmed cases with 172k that have recovered with 76,421deaths. Reopening measures are pushing forward and many citizens are seeing a way that their respective economies in the US and around the world are coming back online to some degree via various dictated stages. Approvals and research towards vaccines & treatment options are on the way has the FDA continues to push the testing & approval process along. Today we saw news from Moderna (MRNA) ($53.19,+8.7%) who received FDA approval to push forward with a Phase 2 trial for its COVID-19 vaccine. Progress is in the cards folks.

A few economic reports surfaced today also showing some progress. Weekly Initial Jobless claims came in at 3.169M representing a 677k decrease from the prior week while continuing claims for the week ending April 25 jumped again by 4.636M to 22.647M. China’s imports dropped more than expected in April however there was a rise in exports. Nonfarm business sector labor productivity dropped 2.5% in Q1. Unit labor costs rose by 4.8%. Consumer credit came back in at $12.1B in March.

With that in mind, the markets remained in positive territory throughout the day. The Nasdaq carried on with its momentum and flew back into positive and is now up 1.4% YTD as it rose 1.41% today. The popular FAANG stocks through another party and all joined in. Facebook (FB) closed at $211.26/share, up by +1.34%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,367.61/share, up by +.7%,  Apple (AAPL) closed at $303.74/share up by +1.03%, & Netflix (NFLX) added +.52% closing $434.26/share, but Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,372.56/share up by 1.87%.

The S&P 500 closed up +1.15%. The Dow gained +.89%. The Russell 2000 jumped +1.58%.  

Today, we also saw oil prices pull back at the close again closing at $23.65/bbl of -1.3%. Chevron (CVX) closed at $92.64/share up +2.88%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $44.24/share up by +.57% & Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) bounced back from yesterday’s double-digit drop to end at $13.88/share up +3.88%.

As the fed continues to add liquidity to drive the economy forward and get us back to work we are once again seeing treasuries rise in value and yields drop. The 2-yr US treasury yield dropped 6 basis points to end at .11% & the 10-yr yield dropped by 8 basis points to end at .63%. The U.S. Dollar Index weakened by -.2% to end at 99.88. Gold prices ended higher again today at $1,722/oz (+30) while silver prices closed at $15.59/oz (+.63). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) ended the day at $2.51/share off -2.33% after rereporting Q1 earnings. Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President, and CEO stated, “Our rapid and early response to COVID-19 protected our workers, operations, and the communities in which we operate. With our key mines operational, we expect the second half of the year to be strong as Casa Berardi resumes normal operations, Lucky Friday ramps-up to full production, and Greens Creek continues to deliver. Our Nevada operations have performed well and have taken a step forward with a third-party processing agreement for a bulk sample of refractory ore and positive results from the hydrological study which could result in continuing production through the end of the year and beyond.”

MOVERS

The following stocks moved significantly today as they reported their quarterly numbers and beat expectations while either confirming that they had thrived during the shutdown or that they are seeing solid ground for growth coming out of it. 

• Shares of Fastly (FSLY) closed at $33.58/share up +45.68%. FSLY is a provider of an edge cloud platform. Joshua Bixby, CEO of Fastly stated “Our first-quarter results underscore the strength and value of our modern edge platform. The momentum from 2019 continued through the first quarter and was further bolstered in late March by increased traffic on our platform from social distancing orders implemented across the world. These unprecedented times highlight the importance of digital transformation now more than ever, and our innovative and resilient customer base enables us to remain confident in the demand for our mission-critical services and the accelerated growth of our business. As we navigate through these uncertain times, we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners, and communities while providing reliable, scalable, and secure digital experiences to our customers.”

• Shares of PayPal (PYPL) closed at $146.29/share up +14.0%. 
• Shares of T-Mobile US (TMUS) closed at $95.29/share up +10.1%
• Shares of Lyft (LYFT) closed at $31.78 up +21.7%.
• Shares of Twilio (TWLO) closed at $170.89 up +39.6%.

NEW PROMISING DATA

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, today announced positive interim results from its Phase 2 study of oral Endoxifen to treat breast cancer in the window of opportunity between diagnosis of breast cancer and surgery. A statistically significant (p = 0.031) reduction of about 74% in tumor cell proliferation was achieved over the 22 days of dosing. Proliferation was measured by Ki-67, a recognized standard measurement of breast cancer cell proliferation. Learn more.

TOMORROW

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

• The Employment Situation Report for April
• The Wholesale Inventories for March

Economic Reports

• On Monday, we received the Factory Orders report which confirmed, and at no real surprise with the shutdown in full power, we saw a decrease of 10.3% month/month in March.
• On Tuesday, we received the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for April which came in at the contraction level of 41.8% down from 52.5% in March. The Trade Balance report for March confirmed a deficit to $44.4B rising from an upwardly revised $39.8B in February. Exports were down $20.0 billion from February while imports were down $15.4 billion.
• On Wednesday, we received the ADP Employment Change report which confirmed a net loss of 20.236M nonfarm payrolls in April while the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index bumped up +.1%.
• On Thursday, we received the Weekly Initial Jobless claims report which came in at 3.169M representing a 677k decrease from the prior week while continuing claims for the week ending April 25 jumped again by 4.636M to 22.647M. China’s imports dropped more than expected in April however there was a rise in exports. Nonfarm business sector labor productivity dropped 2.5% in Q1. Unit labor costs rose by 4.8%. Consumer credit came back in at $12.1B in March.

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 Employment Situation Report for April
• The Wholesale Inventories for March