“New Nasdaq Record, Tesla Squeezes Higher, Disney Beats & It’s World Cancer Day” – Vista Partners Daily Market Recap For Feb. 4, 2020

Tuesday’s trading session brought forth great fortune for many as the Nasdaq charged forward to a new record high closing at 9,467.97, +2.1%. The S&P 500 & The Russell 2000 tied for second moving higher by +1.5% ending respectively at 3,297.59 & 1,656.77.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average faired nicely too ending at 28,807.63, +.1.44% as shares of Disney (DIS) closed at $144.73/share, +2.18% rising after beating Wall Street’s estimates and coming in with 26.5 million Disney+ subscribers vs the 20-25 million that was expected.

Of special note, Tesla (TSLA) leaped higher again today closing at $887.06/share, 13.73% and sports a $159.89 Billion market cap now as the shorts continued to get squeezed.

The FAANG stocks all flew higher accept for Alphabet (GOOG) which closed at $1447.07/share, -2.62% after it reported mixed results after the market closed yesterday. Facebook (FB) closed at $209.83/share, +2.76%. Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,049.67/share, +2.27%.  Apple (AAPL) closed at $318.85/share, +3.3%. Netflix (NFLX) closed at $369.01/share, +3.08%.

The “fear gauge” Vix (TVIX) ended at $47.14/share pulling back by -10.62% and traded in $45.14 – $48.44.

Every February 4th is World Cancer Day, the global uniting initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). By raising worldwide awareness, improving education and catalyzing personal, collective, and government action, they are working to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to lifesaving cancer treatment and care is equal for all. In honor of World Cancer Day, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kyle Guse (pictured above), Chief Financial Officer of Seattle-based Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS). a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, proprietary therapeutics and delivery methods for breast cancer and other breast conditions. They believe their innovative therapies and delivery methods can transform breast cancer treatment– with the goal of preventing breast cancer from developing in the first place to increase the odds of surviving for those who do develop this deadly disease. Mr. Guse has served as Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Secretary since January 2013. His experience includes more than 20 years of counseling life sciences and other rapid growth companies through all aspects of finance, corporate governance, securities laws, and commercialization. Please read now what Mr. Guse shared the following during the interview:

Economic Reports

On Monday we received the ISM Manufacturing Index report for January which moved up to 50.9% & back into the expansion mode level. However total construction spending went down by -.2% month/month in December while residential spending moved higher bu +1.4% month/month & nonresidential spending lowered by -1.2% month/month.

On Tuesday, we received The Factory Orders Report which confirmed a rise of +1.8% month/month in December.

Investing & Inspiration

“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 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for January,
• The ADP Employment Change report for January,
• The Trade Balance report for December, &
• The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index