The Stock Market Experiences Seesaw Affair This Week- $DIA $IBB $IYH $JPM $MCD $PEGY $VIX Rise!

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.

Quote of the Day: “Man is a creative retrospection of nature upon itself.” – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel

Happy Saturday All!

I hope that you experienced a great week and found many ways to increase your net worth. As for the stock market, it was a volatile beast to say the least that left a bit of split decision when reviewing the broad markets on a weekly return basis that received the CPI report which confirmed that prices were not under control yet despite the Fed’s initiatives and fight against inflation. The hard facts of the CPI report included that M/M inflation was up .4% and the CPI moved up 8.2% Y/Y, both exceeding expectations. Also, when you excluded food & energy the CPI moved up .6% M/M again exceeding expectations. Now the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points in November and then again in December.

As a result this week, it was an overall downward sloping seesaw affair that was the course for the indices this week. The S&P 500 closed at 3,583.07, back below the 3600 support level, down 1.6% for the week, and is now down 24.8% YTD . Our ‘good friend,’ Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan (JPM), stated this week that he believes we could see the S&P drop near the 2800 level roughly a 20% drop from here as he sees the U.S. economy falling into a recession in 6-9 mos. As for the sector performances, the consumer discretionary sector dropped 4.1%, the information technology sector fell 3.2%, the utilities sector slid 2.6%, and the real estate sector fell 2.4%, while three sectors managed to turn green including consumer staples moving up 1.5%, health care gaining .8%, & the financials that edged up .2%.

On the positive side, the Dow closed higher at 29,634.83 and up 1.2% for the week and is now down 18.4% YTD. Back too the negative, the Nasdaq closed at 10,321.39 and down sharply by 3.1% weekly & is now down 34% YTD. With the increased volatility, the CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) closed at $32.02, +2.10% over the last 5-days and now up +85.95% YTD. The small caps on the Russell 2000 also had down week and closed at 1,682.40 and down 1.2% for the week & is now down 25.1% YTD. The MicroCaps faired relatively well, but still moved lower overall as the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) closed at $103.28, -.90% over the last 5-days and is now down 26.09% YTD. Overall a downward sloping seesaw affair was the course for the indices this week.

In the US, the yield curve rose accordingly again this week, as the 2-yr note yield ended up 22 basis points at 4.50% & the 10-yr note yield rose by 12 basis points to end at 4%. However, decent news surfaced as oil prices swung lower 8.20% to close at $85.55/bbl this week after last week’s OPEC+’s decision to restrict production, beginning in November, now by 2 million barrels/day stressed out all, as global growth concerns trumped it. On the negative side, the US dollar moved up this week to close at $113.30.

THE MAC REPORTS

On Tuesday, the September NFIB Small Business Optimism Index report confirmed a rise to 92.1.

On Wednesday, the Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index report showed a 2% drop. The PPI report also confirmed a .4% increase in September, the core PPI moved up .3% in September.

On Thursday, the CPI report showed that M/M inflation was up .4% and the CPI moved up 8.2% Y/Y, both exceeding expectations. Also, when you exclude food & energy the CPI moved up .6% M/M again exceeding expectations. We also learned that the weekly initial jobless claims rose to 228k up from last week’s total of 219k, while the continuing claims came in at 1.368M slightly above last week’s total (1.365M). The Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventories report came in with a 125 bcf build, while the Weekly EIA Crude Oil Inventories report confirmed a 9.88M barrels build.

On Friday, the total retail sales report came in flat M/M in September. The September Import-Export Price Index report showed that import prices fell 1.2% M.M, while export prices came in lower by .8% M/M.
The preliminary October University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment rose to 59.8 (Briefing.com consensus 58.6) from the final reading of 58.6 for September. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 71.7. The August Business Inventories report showed a .8% increase.

BIOTECH AND HEALTHCARE

Biotech stocks swing overall higher again this week as equity raises of some size are increasingly being completed and the combinations are increasing. The Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose again this week and closed at $119.58, +.62% over the last 5-days, & is down -21.65% YTD. The NYSE ARCA Biotech Index (^BTK) closed at 4,615.01, +1.87% over the last 5-days. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed at $77.82, -1.62% over the last 5-days & is now down 30.49% YTD. The 52-week range is is now $61.78-$134.79.

The iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) closed at $257.99, up +.62% over the last 5-days.

EV, TECH, CONSUMER, FINANCIALS

Apple (AAPL) closed at $138.38, -1.22% over the last 5-days. Apple enjoys a 6.82% weighting in the S&P 500.

Apple and Goldman Sachs (GS) are working to offer a new, no-fee, high-yield savings account for all Apple Card users.

Stories that Apple is withholding ‘new education and health perks’ some those from workers that are working at newly unionized stores surfaced on Wednesday.

Last week, reports surfaced again that Apple has removed its plans to increase iPhone 14 production beyond its current plans as it is believed to be seeing less than expected demand for the new model.

At the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, my favorite Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” joined the ranks of comedy legends with its win for Outstanding Comedy Series for its first and second seasons.

tesla

EV giant Tesla (TSLA) closed at $204.99, -8.11% over the last 5-days. According to Reuters, Elon Musk, is launching a perfume called “Burnt Hair” that he said sold 10k bottles to earn a million dollars in its first few hours of release and costs $100/bottle and is set to start shipping Q1/2023.

Recently, Elon Musk stated that Tesla will deliver first semitruck to Pepsi (PEP) this December.

Shares of ADT Inc. (ADT), the most trusted brand in smart home and small business security, closed at $8.01, -3.38% over the last 5-days.

On Oct. 13, ADT, announced that it has issued and sold in a private placement to State Farm 133.3 million shares of ADT common stock for a gross purchase price of $1.2 billion. In September, ADT announced a new partnership with State Farm to revolutionize the homeownership experience through innovation in the detection and mitigation of property losses. In addition to the equity investment, State Farm has committed up to $300 million to fund product and technology innovation, customer growth and marketing activities in connection with the partnership. State Farm has funded the first $100 million and the two companies will collaborate to approve initiatives utilizing the funds.

Shares of JPMorgan (JPM) closed at $111.19, +4.92% over the last 5-days. JPM will host a conference call to review third-quarter 2022 financial results on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). The results are scheduled to be released at approximately 7:00 a.m. (EDT). The live audio webcast and presentation slides will be available on www.jpmorganchase.com under Investor Relations, Events & Presentations.

On Sept. 20, JPM declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share on the outstanding shares of the common stock of JPMorgan Chase. The dividend is payable on October 31, 2022, to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 6, 2022.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) $106.90, -6.69% over the last 5-days. Amazon will hold a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2022 financial results on Thursday, October 27, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET. The event will be webcast live, and the audio and associated slides will be available for at least three months thereafter at www.amazon.com/ir.

Shares of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) closed at $228.56, -2.42% over the last 5-days. Frost & Sullivan recently assessed the sustainability and circularity in the cloud services industry and, based on its findings, recognizes Microsoft with the 2022 Global Company of the Year Award. The company provides cutting-edge cloud services and solutions enabling organizations across different industries to increase sustainability and reduce emissions in their business practices and operations. With a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund for sustainability initiatives, Microsoft will advance the commercialization and implementation of its cutting-edge sustainable cloud services and solutions across numerous market segments, attracting new potential customers and advancing sustainability worldwide. Microsoft’s industry-leading sustainable cloud services enable businesses across diverse economic segments to adopt low-carbon business practices and meet their sustainability objectives.

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) closed at $142.22, -5.37% over the last five days. Salesforce has been recognized by Gartner as a Leader in the 2022 Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation Platforms. It is the 16th consecutive year that Salesforce has received this recognition. On September 21, Salesforce announced the appointment of Robin Washington as Lead Independent Director of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective September 15, 2022. Washington, who also chairs the Board’s Audit Committee, succeeds Sanford Robertson, who will continue to serve as a Director and Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Shares of NVIDIA (NVDA), a pioneer in accelerated computing, closed at $112.27, -6.13% over the last 5-days. On Sept, 20, NVIDIA announced the second generation of NVIDIA OVX™, powered by the NVIDIA Ada Lovelace GPU architecture and enhanced networking technology, to deliver groundbreaking real-time graphics, AI and digital twin simulation capabilities. The new NVIDIA OVX systems are designed to build 3D virtual worlds using leading 3D software applications and to operate immersive digital twin simulations in NVIDIA Omniverse™ Enterprise — a scalable, end-to-end platform enabling enterprises to build and operate metaverse applications.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) closed at $33.99, -9.43% over the last 5-days.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) closed at $116.80, -3.29% over the last 5-days.

Walt Disney Company (DIS) closed at $94.45, -2.79% over the last 5-days. The Walt Disney Company will discuss fiscal full year and fourth quarter 2022 financial results via a live audio webcast beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Results will be released after the close of regular trading on November 8, 2022. To listen to the webcast, please visit www.disney.com/investors.

On September 30, Disney reached a deal with activist investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point, which included adding former Meta executive Carolyn Everson to the board of directors.
The deal comes weeks after Third Point took a new stake in Disney valued at about $1 billion, or 0.4% of the company, and urged the media company to spin out its sports property, ESPN. Carolyn Everson, a veteran media and technology executive, will join its Board of Directors, effective November 21. Ms. Everson, 50, a well-respected executive with deep experience in consumer-facing companies, will be included in the Company’s slate of director nominees in the proxy statement for Disney’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Ms. Everson most recently served as President of Instacart. Prior to that role, she was Vice President of the Global Business Group at Facebook, now known as Meta, where she led the global marketing solutions team focused on top strategic accounts and global agencies, as well as media strategy, advertising sales, and account management from 2011-2021.

Shares of McDonald’s (MCD) closed at $243.16, +4.28% over the last 5-days. On Oct, 13, McDonald’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.52 per share of common stock payable on December 15, 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 1, 2022. The dividend increase of 10% over the Company’s previous quarterly dividend reflects confidence in the Accelerating the Arches growth strategy and a continued focus on driving long-term profitable growth for all stakeholders.

GOLD & SILVER

Gold prices closed at $1,648/oz., -$52/oz. & silver prices closed at $18.30/oz., -$1.85/oz. for the week.

Hecla Mining (HL) closed at $4.17, -2.11% over the last 5-days & First Majestic (AG) closed at $7.60, -7.65% over the last 5-days.

On Sept. 7, Hecla Mining Company and Alexco Resource Corp. (NYSE American:AXU; TSX:AXU) announced that the Alexco acquisition has been completed.

MEMES CENTRAL

AMC Entertainment (AMC) closed at $6.00, -8.12% over the last 5-days. On Oct. 12, Odeon Finco PLC announced that it has commenced an offering of $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2027 (the “Notes”) in a private offering (the “Offering”), subject to market and other conditions. The Issuer is a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of Odeon Cinemas Group Limited (“OCGL” and, together with its subsidiaries, “Odeon”) and an indirect subsidiary of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC and APE, $1.82, +10.98%) (“AMC”). The Notes will be guaranteed on a senior secured basis by OCGL and certain subsidiaries of OCGL, and on an unsecured standalone basis by AMC. Odeon intends to use the proceeds from the Offering, together with cash on hand, to fund the repayment in full of OCGL’s existing term loan facilities, and to pay related fees, costs, premiums and expenses.

GameStop (GME) closed at $24.63, -3.64% over the last 5-days. On Sept 7th, GameStop released financial results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2022. Net sales were $1.136 billion for the quarter, compared to $1.183 billion in the prior year’s second quarter. Sales attributable to collectibles, which is a segment the Company intends to grow over the long-term, were $223.2 million for the quarter, compared to $177.2 million in the prior year’s second quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $387.5 million for the quarter, representing a sequential decline of 14.3% from the first quarter of 2022 and reflecting, in part, the Company’s focus on right-sizing costs following a period of significant investment in long-term initiatives. After the close today, September 7, GameStop Corp. also announced that it has entered into a partnership with FTX US (“FTX”). The partnership is intended to introduce more GameStop customers to FTX’s community and its marketplaces for digital assets. In addition to collaborating with FTX on new ecommerce and online marketing initiatives, GameStop will begin carrying FTX gift cards in select stores. During the term of the partnership, GameStop will be FTX’s preferred retail partner in the United States. The financial terms of the partnership are not being disclosed.

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) closed at $.4941, -3.12% over the last 5-days. On Oct. 13, Seanergy announced the closing of its previously announced $28.0 million term loan secured by two 2010-built Capesize vessels, M/V Fellowship and M/V Premiership, with a prominent European financing institution. The facility has refinanced an existing facility at an interest rate is 2.50% plus SOFR per annum compared to 3.50% plus LIBOR in the previous facility secured by the same vessels. The $28 million principal will amortize over a five-year term through quarterly instalments averaging approximately $1.2 million and a $4.1 million final balloon payment at maturity.

CRYPTO & BITCOIN

Bitcoin (BTC) closed at $19,168.82, +.14% over the last 5-days at the time this report was prepared.

ENERGY

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund or ETF (XLE) closed at $80.28,-3.73% over the last 5-days. Chevron (CVX) closed at $160.14, +.07% over the last 5-days.

Oil prices closed on Friday to end at $88.55/bbl.

Shares of Pineapple Energy Inc. (PEGY), a leading provider of sustainable solar energy and back-up power to households and small businesses, jumped +50.79% over the last 5-days to close at $5.73. On August 22, Pineapple Energy Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. Kyle Udseth, Pineapple CEO stated, “Performance in our first full quarter as a public company showed the strength of our strategy and market opportunity,” said Kyle Udseth, Pineapple CEO. “Growth was strong in our core initial market of Hawaii, especially in battery storage where installations were up 53%. We built backlog—and thus customer relationships and future revenue—with sales growth far outpacing installation growth, setting us up for a strong second half of the year. In fact, we are already scheduling installs into October, and even have begun scheduling Saturday installs to enhance the customer experience. To prepare for this burst of activity, we are hiring in Hawaii, as we also build our headquarters team.”

NEXT WEEK

A full set of 5 trading days will be back in play next week… Expect volatility.

VP WATCHLIST UPDATES

Please review our complete VP Watchlist that includes Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), Tesla (TSLA) & a select group of emerging names. The pages will allow you to learn more and keep up with these companies daily.

For now, please see the summaries from the VP Watchlist below:

Shares of Natural-Killer cell (NKcell) focused biopharmaceutical firm Fate Therapeutics (FATE) closed at $20.36, -5.17% over the last 5-days.

- On Aug. 8, Fate Therapeutics announced the publication of preclinical study results demonstrating the successful generation, durable anti-tumor response, and functional persistence of TCR-CAR+ iPSC-derived CD8αβ T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The CD8αβ T cells were derived from a single engineered iPSC integrating a novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) transgene into the T-cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC) locus, ensuring complete bi-allelic disruption of T-cell receptor (TCR) expression and promoting uniform CAR expression. The discoveries were made under a multi-year research collaboration between the Company and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) led by Michel Sadelain, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Cell Engineering and Head, Gene Expression and Gene Transfer Laboratory, and were published this week in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

- After the market closed on August 3, Fate released its business highlights and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. Scott Wolchko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fate Therapeutics stated, “We continue to make important strides across our clinical, regulatory, and manufacturing operations to support pivotal readiness of our iPSC-derived NK cell product candidates for B-cell lymphoma, and are looking forward to meeting with the FDA in the third quarter to discuss registrational pathways for the treatment of relapsed / refractory aggressive lymphomas, including for patients that have previously failed CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy. We are also excited that clinical investigation of FT536 has initiated to assess the targeting of oncogenic and cellular stress ligands, a novel pan-tumor-targeting strategy with the potential to overcome common mechanisms of tumor escape that frequently emerge in patients with advanced solid tumors. Finally, we continue to drive our collaborations with Janssen and Ono with strong momentum, and are well positioned to achieve significant milestones and advance three multiplexed-engineered, CAR-targeted cell collaboration candidates into clinical development over the next 12 months.”

Shares of 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, closed at $.81, flat over the last 5-days.

On Aug. 25th, Atossa’s CEO, Dr. Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., and Kyle Guse, GC & CFO presented at Tribe Public’s Webinar Presentation and Q&A Event. During this complimentary event, Atossa management spoke of new opportunities for its inhalation therapy, AT-H201, to potentially treat lung injury caused by cancer treatment and were available for a Q&A session focused on Atossa’s research programs and future development. To watch the event video titled “The Important Role For Inhalation Therapy In Oncology” please visit the Tribe Public YouTube Channel.

- On Aug. 8, Atossa announced their financial results for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2022, and provided an update on recent company developments. Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “We continue to make steady progress with our Endoxifen programs: one to reduce tumor cell activity in breast cancer patients in the neoadjuvant setting; and another to reduce dense breast tissue in women. Our work on AT-H201 demonstrated valuable outcomes, not the least of which was an understanding of how to pursue its development in the field of oncology. With the widespread availability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and other therapies now approved to treat COVID-19, we believe that altering the development pathways for AT-H201 in cancer patients with compromised lung-function resulting from radiation treatment may fill a compelling unmet medical need and create additional value for our stockholders. Lung injury caused by radiation treatment affects 30-40% of lung cancer patients, and ~35% of esophageal cancer patients. In non-small cell cancer patients receiving concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy the incidence of lung injury is estimated to be greater than 60%. As we previously announced, rather than proceeding with Part D of the AT-H201 study in COVID-19 patients, we plan to quickly initiate a clinical study of patients with compromised lung function caused by radiation treatment and we anticipate announcing next steps in the coming months.”

- July 28, Atossa announced it has completed dosing participants in Part C of its Phase 1/2a clinical study of its proprietary inhalation therapy (or, AT-H201) in Australia. AT-H201 consists of two drugs previously approved by the FDA to treat other diseases. AT-H201 is intended to be inhaled via nebulizer with the goal of preventing or reducing lung injury that may be caused by fibrin deposition, fluid build-up and secondary infection. Part C of the study involved administering the two drugs in succession in healthy volunteers. The study originally included a Part D which was designed to assess the effects of the treatment regimen in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with moderate illness. However, due to the rapidly shifting COVID-19 treatment landscape and the introduction of effective vaccines limiting hospitalizations, Atossa has evaluated indications for AT-H201 beyond COVID-19 patients, including treating and/or preventing lung injury in patients undergoing certain cancer treatments. Rather than conducting Part D of the Phase 1/2a clinical study, Atossa now plans to shift the development of AT-H201 to closely align with its oncology focus by continuing the development in patients with compromised lung-function due to the damaging effects of cancer treatment. For example, radiation treatment can lead to radiation induced lung injury, which is poorly treated with current therapies and is often irreversible. Furthermore, radiation damage can limit the overall success of lung cancer treatment leading to a reduction in efficacy and poor disease control. AT-H201 has pharmacological properties to potentially curtail excessive radiation-induced lung injury without compromising standard of care cancer therapy for cancer patients. AT-H201 is designed to prevent and reduce dose-limiting toxicities, and enable a more durable therapeutic tumor response for cancer patients receiving pulmonary radiation. Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and President of Atossa stated, “We are happy to have completed Parts A, B and C of the clinical trial and look forward to evaluating the results. With widespread availability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and other therapies now approved to treat COVID-19, we believe that altering the development pathways for AT-H201 in patients with compromised lung-function resulting from radiation may fill a compelling unmet medical need and create more value for our stockholders. Based on our work to date with AT-H201, we believe we can quickly initiate a clinical study in this setting and we plan to announce our next steps in the fourth quarter.”

- On July 28, Jason McCarthy Ph.D., a biotech analyst at the Maxim Group, put out a note reconfirming his BUY rating and a $4 target price on Atossa.

- On July 7, Atossa filed an 8k at sec.gov that stated, that on July 1, 2022, Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (“Atossa”) entered into a letter agreement (the “Letter Agreement”) with a venture-capital backed, private company based in the United States that is in the pre-clinical stage of developing novel Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies based on technology licensed from a leading U.S. adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research institution (the “CAR-T Company”). The Letter Agreement requires that up until November 1, 2022 the CAR-T Company will (i) negotiate exclusively with Atossa for Atossa to acquire the CAR-T Company, and (ii) address certain matters related to personnel, operations and intellectual property. Atossa has paid $3 million for the exclusive right to negotiate with the CAR-T Company. If a definitive agreement is not reached for Atossa to acquire the CAR-T Company and if a specified material adverse event has not occurred, then Atossa will pay an additional $2 million for a 19.99% preferred stock equity interest in the CAR-T Company. Atossa is under no obligation to complete the acquisition of the CAR-T Company and no assurance can be given that an acquisition will be completed on acceptable terms or at all.

Shares INVO Bioscience (NASDAQ: INVO), 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, closed at $1.24/share. The 52-wk range is $.63 – $4.28.

- On Sept 22, INVO announced that Dr. Sue Ellen Carpenter of Bloom Fertility, the Company’s Atlanta-based INVO Center, was named a recipient of the Castle Connolly Top Doctor Award for 2023. Castle Connolly Top Doctor recipients are nominated by fellow physicians and other healthcare leaders around the country identifying doctors that embody excellence in clinical care as well as interpersonal skills such as listening and communicating, demonstrating empathy and instilling trust and confidence in patients. Dr. Carpenter has been a recipient of the merit-based Castle Connolly Top Doctor Award since 2018.

- On Aug. 25th, INVO Bioscience announced that Advanced Reproductive Centre, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), formally known as Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM), based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is making IVC available for their patients. The move follows the successful completion of the first IVC case in the country recently with data presented at the Obstetrical and Gynecological Society of Malaysia (“OGSM”) where it was awarded a prize as a new and innovative fertility treatment. A signing ceremony announcing the launch of IVC was witnessed by the Minister of Science and Innovation and Deputy Secretary General. HCTM, one of the five university hospitals in Malaysia, is currently the highest volume fertility center in the country. Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience, commented, “We are excited that INVOcell will officially be commercialized at HCTM in Kuala Lumpur following the successful presentation of data at OGSM and government support by the Minister of Science and Innovation and Deputy Secretary General. HCTM will start offering IVC both in their public and private sectors with an expectation to complete a number of cycles by the end of 2022. We are also working with partners in Malaysia to open up an INVO Centers in their existing practice as we strive to bring our innovative advanced fertility treatment to the people of Malaysia.”

- INVO Bioscience reported financial results for its second quarter 2022, ended June 30, 2022, after the market close on Monday, August 15, 2022. INVO highlighted the following progress: Existing INVO Centers experienced a 20% increase in patient inquiries and consultations compared to the first quarter of 2022, as key activities continue to build, Progressing toward planned openings of additional INVO Centers in Tampa, Florida, Kansas City, Kansas, and the San Francisco Bay Area, In May 2022, signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Onesky Holdings Limited (“Onesky”) for mainland China (excludes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Onesky will be responsible for registering the product in the country, and upon government approval, will be obligated to purchase minimum quantities of INVOcell totaling approximately $14 million over the subsequent five-year term, & increased U.S.-based expansion opportunities post-Ferring, including both greenfield INVO Centers and potential acquisitions of established fertility clinics.

- ***INSIDER BUYING ALERT***– On Friday June 3, after the close, a number of Form 4’s were filed c. at www.sec.gov confirming that the CEO, COO, CFO and 5 members of the board of directors purchased shares at $.95/share on June 1, 2022. Here’s the link to view all of the share purchases.

Shares of InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INM), a leading clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing cannabinoid-based drug candidates for high unmet medical needs and IntegraSyn, a proprietary and cost effective manufacturing approach for synthesized rare cannabinoids, closed at $5.31/share. Please visit the INM page at our website to learn more and check out the videos section too.

- On Friday, September 23, INM reported financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. See the release here. Eric A. Adams, InMed CEO, stated, “In the final quarter of our fiscal 2022, as well as throughout the previous fiscal year, we have made important advancements in our pharmaceutical drug development programs, including expanding our Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of symptoms related to epidermolysis bullosa to include adolescents, and initiating a research collaboration agreement to further screen cannabinoid analogs for potential therapeutic uses. As announced on September 8, 2022, we have made the decision reduce the efforts of our subsidiary, BayMedica, to pursue commercialization of rare cannabinoids in the health & wellness sector. Moving forward, the Company is realigning its focus and resources towards advancing our pharmaceutical drug development programs with the aim of achieving important milestones in the coming quarters and year.”
- After the close, September 13, InMed announced the closing of its previously announced private placement with two healthcare-focused institutional investors for the issuance and sale of 691,245 of its common shares at a purchase price of $8.68 per share (or pre-funded warrant in lieu thereof) priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules. In addition, the Company has issued to the investors in the offering unregistered preferred investment options to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,382,490 common shares.The aggregate gross proceeds to the Company from the private placement were approximately $6 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to continue pipeline development of its pharmaceutical drug candidates, advance manufacturing know-how of cannabinoids and cannabinoid analogs, support intellectual property development and other commercial activities, and for general working capital purposes. H.C. Wainwright & Co. acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering. The unregistered investment options issued in the offering are exercisable immediately upon issuance at an exercise price of $8.44 per share and will expire seven years from the date of issuance. In addition, an investor in the private placement agreed to cancel preferred investment options to purchase up to an aggregate of 412,331 common shares of the Company which were previously issued to the investor.
- On Sept. 8, InMed announced an update on its research/development and commercial activities. Eric A. Adams, InMed CEO, stated, “The Company continues to execute on its research and development (“R&D”) plans to complete enrollment in a Phase 2 clinical program in epidermolysis bullosa (“EB”) by calendar year end, to continue to advance a preclinical drug candidate in ocular disease and to investigate the utility of proprietary cannabinoid analogs in targeting specific diseases. We remain enthusiastic with the potential of the proprietary cannabinoid analog program that resulted in part from our acquisition of BayMedica, LLC (“BayMedica”) in October 2021. However, despite the significant efforts by the commercial team at BayMedica, the market demand for the BayMedica naturally-occurring cannabinoids in the Health & Wellness (“H&W”) sector is not progressing as anticipated.” READ MORE.

Shares of Chinook Therapeutics, Inc. (KDNY), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, closed at $19.17, -1.24% over the last 5-days.

On Aug. 8, Chinook provided a business update and reported financial results for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2022. “During the second quarter of 2022, we executed well on advancing our pipeline of clinical and preclinical programs for rare, severe chronic kidney diseases. We continue to ramp up enrollment of patients in the phase 3 ALIGN trial for atrasentan, and the data we presented at ERA from the ongoing phase 2 AFFINITY trial of atrasentan demonstrated consistent and clinically meaningful proteinuria reductions in patients with IgAN,” said Eric Dobmeier, president and chief executive officer of Chinook Therapeutics. “For BION-1301, the additional data presented at ERA from the ongoing phase 1/2 trial reaffirms its disease-modifying potential in IgAN by demonstrating durable reductions in mechanistic biomarkers and corresponding impressive proteinuria reductions. We look forward to advancing BION-1301 into a phase 3 study for patients with IgAN in 2023. We are also continuing to make progress with dose escalation in the ongoing phase 1 trial of CHK-336 in healthy volunteers and expect to report data in the first half of 2023.”

Borqs Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: BRQS, $.6248, -.1.14% over the last 5-days), a global provider of 5G wireless solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and innovative clean energy, recently provided the following updates on the Company.

On October 12, Borqs announced that the Company has forayed into two/three-wheelers automotive space by developing the Telematics Control Unit (TCU) and has successfully demonstrated the newly developed TCU in India Mobile Congress held in New Delhi from October 1 to 4. The newly developed TCU is installed on a two-wheeler and connected to the internet via the cellular network. Indian electric vehicle market was valued at USD 1,434.04 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach USD 15,397.19 billion by 2027. India’s automotive sector is dominated by two-wheelers (scooters, motorbikes) and three-wheelers (autos and rickshaws) that play a significant role in last-mile mobility in the country. The total sales of electric two-wheelers, including high-speed and low-speed, in the 12-month period (January-December) in 2021 increased by 132% over the corresponding year 2020.

On Sept 20, Borqs announced its solar energy storage subsidiary, Holu Hou Energy LLC (HHE), a company that offers state-of-the-art renewable energy and energy storage systems to the Single-Family Residential, Multi-Dwelling Unit Residential and Commercial building markets, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kapolei Diversified Properties, LLC to deliver energy to Luhauola, a new mixed-use development in Kapolei, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The property includes 10,000 square feet of commercial space, plus outdoor dining for local food establishments. The residential portion of the property includes 29 workforce housing rental apartments. U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows oil generated about two-thirds of Hawaii’s electricity in 2021. That makes Hawaii the most petroleum-dependent state.

- Holu Hou Energy will construct the Solar + Energy Storage system utilizing its market leading HoluPower Residential Energy Storage System, combined with the Residential and Commercial scale solar generation. The contract is valued at several million dollars and includes 200KW of PV and 500KWh of energy storage. The system will be placed into service in 2023.
  
  “Our products and services are improving the lives of customers every day by delivering cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity, including to those living in Multi-Dwelling Unit residential housing,” stated Brad Hansen, CEO of Holu Hou Energy. “We look forward to building on our Hawaii leadership position and bringing this same energy independence to markets like California in the near future. The cost of utility electricity in Hawaii has risen by about 60% over the last 18-months, with residential rates being at a historical high of around $0.50/kWh. Reliance on fuel oil for a significant part of Hawaii’s power generation means that these unprecedented rates are not likely to abate soon. HHE brings the most safe and productive solar and energy storage solutions to customers, including to those in income brackets not historically able to have their energy needs met by renewables.”
On July 15, Borqs Technologies announced that its majority owned solar energy storage systems subsidiary, Holu Hou Energy LLC (“HHE”), has signed agreement with Honokea Villages to deliver a major renewable energy generation and storage system to Honokea’s planned ecological sports training and Hawaiian Cultural facility in their “ahupua’a”, or local community. The development will have Olympic calibre training facilities for surfing, sport climbing, kayaking, beach volleyball, and more, and will serve as tool to celebrate athletics in Hawaii. The renewable energy system will feature over 3 MW of PV generation and over 4 MWh of energy storage, enough to power 100% of the operations of the facility, and will be financed under a 20-year power purchase agreement, or PPA. The system provided by HHE will begin construction in 2023 and its value is estimated at nearly $20M. This project is included in the $49.8 million of Q2 2022 signed contracts announced earlier this month. Honokea Villages was co-founded by Brian Keaulana in 2011 to address the need for Hawaiian Surf Culture to be incorporated into, what was at the time, the fledgling surf park industry. Now 11 years later there are 100+ surf parks being planned around the world with names like Kelly Slater and in places as foreign as Switzerland. “Honokea aims to ensure Hawaiian Culture is incorporated into every aspect of the planning of the family destination: excellence in sports, sustainability, arts and culture. It’s a place for the whole family that’s truly designed to benefit our community in as many ways as possible especially on our side of the island,” says Keaulana.

HHE is a premier provider of an energy storage system that is engineered to provide a new level of resilience to homeowner, multi-dwelling units and businesses, giving energy security in uncertain and unstable times. The Holu system is completely integrated, meaning engineered and tested from the start, at the system level. Other suppliers piece together components made by multiple vendors in unknown factories with unknown work conditions, causing the customer to have questionable reliability, safety and performance when all the disparate pieces are put together. Our energy storage system is certified and warrantied as an integrated product, including our breakthrough “modular energy controller”, so you get resilience, safety and performance you can count on day in and day out, and you get “cloud-based” upgrades and performance enhancements based upon the rate structures you reside in.

Thanks again for your attention this week. Please continue to share your thoughts, questions, & ideas as we move forward.

In the meantime, please enjoy the balance of the weekly newsletter’s videos, quotes, updates and let’s find ways to crush it again this year!

Investing & Inspiration

“Man is a creative retrospection of nature upon itself.” – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
“There’s something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy.” – Ken Kesey
“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather
“The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion.” – Nadia Boulanger
“More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause.” – Rose Kennedy
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” – Archimedes
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” – Mark Twain
“The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi
“Without labor nothing prospers.” – Sophocles
“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” – Albert Einstein
“This is the precept by which I have lived: Prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes.” – Hannah Arendt
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
“He who is brave is free.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk
“I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever I don’t need.” – Auguste Rodin
“Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.” – Robert Green Ingersoll
“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” – Lao Tzu
“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.” – Stewart Udall
“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
“Inflation destroys savings, impedes planning, and discourages investment. That means less productivity and a lower standard of living.” – Kevin Brady
“If we give something positive to others, it will return to us. If we give negative, that negativity will be returned.” – Allu Arjun
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” ~ George S. Patton
“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”- Eleanor Roosevelt
“Success is dependent on effort.” – Sophocles
“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas
“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
“And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.” – Black Elk
“Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.” – Joseph Hall
“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” – Maya Angelou
“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” – Clint Eastwood
“We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” – Ray Bradbury
“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” – Confucius
“I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” – Robert H. Schuller
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” – Thomas Sowell
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha”
Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” – Boris Pasternak
“Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” – Khalil Gibran
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” – Bruce Lee
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein
“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” – W. Clement Stone
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” – Albert Einstein
“Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk
“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry Kissinger
“Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.” – Oliver Goldsmith
“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
“Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living.” – Omar N. Bradley
“Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” – Rumi
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
“Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.” – Nelson Mandela
“The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelope our future.” – John Maynard Keynes
“A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein
“It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Without investment there will not be growth, and without growth there will not be employment.” – Muhtar Kent
“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy
“Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!” – Donna Karan
“It’s crazy how fast time flies and how things progress.” – Nathan Chen
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius
“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
“Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
“I like to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it’s proactive and there is positive intent behind it.” – Michael J. Fox
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
“But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion.” – Bill Nye
“Bitcoin, in the short or even long term, may turn out be a good investment in the same way that anything that is rare can be considered valuable. Like baseball cards. Or a Picasso.” – Andrew Ross Sorkin
“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” – Charlie Chaplin
“No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you’ll find the positive side of things.” – Demi Lovato
“Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in health, in economic growth and environmental solutions.” – Oren Etzioni
“Educating our children and giving them the skills they need to compete in a global economy is a smart investment in our country’s future.” – Sheldon Whitehouse
“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.” – Franz Liszt
“The sofa is a really important investment for anybody, and I don’t mean financially. You need to find a really great sofa that can transition with you, and you can build from there.” – Jeremiah Brent
“There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment.” – Orison Swett Marden
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie
“There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
“In tennis, you strike a ball just after the rebound for the fastest return. It’s the same with investment.” – Masayoshi Son
“A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane.” – Jackie Kennedy
“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.” – Bill Gates
“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius, Chinese
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale
“Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”– Albert Einstein
“Education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.” – Ed Markey
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson
“In my view, the biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. Not only is the mere drop in stock prices not risk, but it is an opportunity. Where else do you look for cheap stocks?” – Li Lu
“A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” – Elie Wiesel
“Investing in women’s lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations – and consequently in our own long-term national interests.” – Liya Kebede
“Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” – Mike Ditka
“No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” – Jessica Savitch
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”– Arthur Ashe
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
“The amount of work and the amount of both physical and emotional investment it takes to get to the top.” – Drew Bledsoe