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Wait patiently. Let’s see who’s correct in the coming weeks/ months. Just posting DD for anyone who’s interested. GLTA except Shorty!!!!
Moderna Inc. MRNA, +10.73% announced Friday afternoon that the latest study of its potential COVID-19 vaccine has begun. The first participants in each age range have been dosed with its vaccine candidate, known as mRNA-1273, and will receive another dose 28 days later before being followed for 12 months to determine efficacy. The company intends to enroll 600 patients in the study across two age groups, 18 to 55 and older than 55. Moderna previously released limited details about its phase 1 trial of the vaccine, saying that it produced necessary antibodies in some subjects but neglecting to provide full datasets. Moderna stock shot more than 10% higher Friday, with most of those gains coming in the last hour of the session. Shares were largely quiet in after-hours trading, when the announcement was made.
Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) rose more than 10% on Friday after the biotechnology company announced the commencement of its Phase 2 study for its novel coronavirus vaccine.
So what
Moderna said the first participants in each age group of its Phase 2 study have received doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273. The study will evaluate the safety of mRNA-1273 and its ability to provoke an immune response in the human body. Participants will receive two vaccinations of mRNA-1273 spaced 28 days apart.
Moderna is seeking to enroll 600 healthy participants, including 300 people aged 18-55 and 300 people older than 55. Participants will receive either a 50 microgram dose, a 100 microgram dose, or a placebo. They will be monitored for 1 year after the second vaccination.
A person wearing productive gear working in a laboratory.
MODERNA STOCK ROSE SHARPLY ON FRIDAY AFTER IT ANNOUNCED THE START OF ITS PHASE 2 STUDY FOR ITS EXPERIMENTAL CORONAVIRUS VACCINE. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Now what
The Phase 2 study comes after Moderna released promising early results from its Phase 1 study on May 18. Since that time, the biotech has been ramping up its production capabilities. On Thursday, Moderna extended a manufacturing agreement with CordenPharma, which will supply lipids for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Moderna also expects to begin a Phase 3 study for mRNA-1273 in July, "subject to finalization of the clinical trial protocol."
New York, May 29, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) assigned a B2 rating to The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.'s (Chefs) proposed amended first lien term loan due 2025. The company's existing ratings are unchanged, including its B2 corporate family rating (CFR), B2-PD probability of default rating, B2 term loan rating and SGL-3 speculative grade liquidity rating. The ratings outlook remains negative.
The amendment will extend the maturity of the $238 million (outstanding amount) term loan to 2025 from 2022, increase pricing by 200bp and add a minimum liquidity covenant. In conjunction with the transaction, the company will pay down 15% of the outstanding amount (payable to consenting lenders only).
Moody's views the transaction as credit positive because it extends the company's debt maturity profile and modestly lowers debt levels. Moody's expects the company to have adequate liquidity over the next 12-18 months, with a $227 million pro-forma cash balance and $80 million borrowings under the $150 million asset-based revolving credit facility.
Moody's took the following rating actions for The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.:
Proposed Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, assigned B2 (LGD4)
RATINGS RATIONALE
The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.'s B2 corporate family rating incorporates Moody's expectations that the company will have adequate liquidity over the next 12-18 months. The rating also reflects Chefs' position as a premier distributor of specialty food products in the United States and Canada. The company benefits from serving customers a product portfolio with a deep selection of specialty and center-of-the-plate food products that differentiates its offering from the larger, traditional broadline foodservice distributors. Chefs has been able to command solid operating margins relative to its peers. Nonetheless, its scale remains modest as revenue and EBITDA are much smaller than that of its public company foodservice industry peers. A key credit constraint is the expectation that Chefs' customer base will shrink as a result of the temporary restaurant closures and lower volumes once restaurants reopen. Chefs' niche focus is on independent restaurant operators that have riskier credit profiles and liquidity, providing them with less ability to withstand their closure in response to COVID-19. Acquisitions have historically been integral to the company's growth. The rating also incorporates governance considerations, specifically the company's balanced financial policies.
The negative outlook reflects Moody's view that Chefs' operating performance and credit metrics will remain under considerable pressure given its exposure to independent restaurants, which are expected to be hurt by the disruption of COVID-19 and the ensuing weakness in consumer demand.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
Factors that could result in an upgrade include an ability to increase its scale while maintaining debt to EBITDA around 4.5 times and EBITA to interest above 2.25 times on a sustained basis. An upgrade would also require Chefs' maintaining at least good liquidity.
Factors that could result in a downgrade include leverage on a debt to EBITDA basis of around 5.5 times or EBITA coverage of interest below 1.75 times on a sustained basis. A deterioration in liquidity for any reason could also result in a downgrade. The ratings could also be negatively impacted in the event Chefs' financial strategy towards acquisitions or shareholder returns became more aggressive.
The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. distributes specialty food products to menu-driven independent restaurants, fine dining establishments, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, bakeries, patisseries, chocolatiers, cruise lines, casinos, and specialty food stores in the United States and Canada. The company generated net sales of $1.6 billion for the twelve months ended March 27, 2020.
The principal methodology used in this rating was Distribution & Supply Chain Services Industry published in June 2018 and available at
Right now, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) share price is at $13.97, after a 9.11% decrease. Over the past month, the stock spiked by 65.22%, but over the past year, it actually decreased by 83.78%. With questionable short-term performance like this, and great long-term performance, long-term shareholders might want to start looking into the company's price-to-earnings ratio.
The stock is currently higher from its 52 week low by 2228.30%. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for investors trying to diversify their portfolio with specialty & generic drug manufacturers stocks, and capitalize on the lower share price observed over the year.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENTAd
The P/E ratio is used by long-term shareholders to assess the company’s market performance against aggregate market data, historical earnings, and the industry at large. A lower P/E indicates that shareholders do not expect the stock to perform better in the future, and that the company is probably undervalued. It shows that shareholders are less than willing to pay a high share price, because they do not expect the company to exhibit growth, in terms of future earnings.
Most often, an industry will prevail in a particular phase of a business cycle, than other industries.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. has a lower P/E than the aggregate P/E of 34.38 of the specialty & generic drug manufacturers industry. Ideally, one might believe that they might perform worse than its peers, but it’s also probable that the stock is undervalued.
There are many limitations to P/E ratio. It is sometimes difficult to determine the nature of the earnings makeup of a company. Shareholders might not get what they're looking for, from trailing earnings.
First I’ve heard of that
Good things are coming $$$$$$ waiting patiently $$$$$$$ GLTA except Shorty!!!!!
Your welcome my friend. Best of trades to you!!!!!!
,(((((((GILD))))))))),TO DA MOON!!!!!!! weeeeeeeeeee $$$$$$$$$$
Waiting to reload again. I sold before 8 plus. Hopefully loading around high 5s or low 6s again
Key Developments:
Virus Tracker: Cases top 5.6 million; deaths over 355,000A radical plan and $2.6 trillion bring Europe back from abyssDisney’s Florida theme parks expected to reopen in JulyGreen shoots emerge in world economy as lockdowns easeYouTube misinformation fight trips on drug touted by TrumpHow can I get it? The evidence on transmission: QuickTake
Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here.
U.K. Tracing System Hit By Technical Glitches (7:44 a.m. NY)
The U.K.’s coronavirus tracing program was hit by technical problems on the day of its launch, with some health-care workers unable to log on to the system. “As with all large scale operations of this kind, some staff did initially encounter issues logging on to their systems and these are rapidly being resolved,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said by email.
The so-called ‘Test and Trace’ service is a key part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to help the British economy return to normality, by helping to control the spread of the virus and allowing for lockdown restrictions to be lifted. Under the program, officials contact people who may have been exposed to someone with the virus, and tell them to self-isolate.
Harrods Set to Reopen (7 a.m. NY)
Luxury British retailer Harrods is set to reopen its flagship London store in June, with “significant” social distancing measures in place, and unveiled plans to open an outlet shop to sell stock left over from the season.
The company plans to use footfall monitoring technology to limit capacity at its main Knightsbridge store and ensure social distancing can be maintained. Specific doors will be designated for entering and exiting the store, which was closed in March as the coronavirus outbreak started to spread in Britain.
The new concept store, based in West London’s Westfield mall, has been designed to allow more space for customers, the company said. “In the new world in which we find ourselves, the economy needs businesses willing to look at its business model and current operations and think differently to enable growth, while protecting its customers and employees,” Managing Director Michael Ward said. “Harrods Outlet allows us to enable better social distancing across a larger footprint.”
WHO Warns Against Austerity (6:37 a.m. NY)
The World Health Organization warned against austerity in health spending as Europe’s economies reel from the effects of lockdowns to rein in the coronavirus. “We must learn from the mistakes of the past,” when public spending on health fell in the wake of the euro crisis, Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said in a briefing.
Cuts in public spending on health shift costs to households who may already be facing financial insecurity, the WHO’s European office warned. Kluge called for solidarity among European governments. “If there’s something we have learned so far it’s that one country, even if it’s doing a great job, is not standing alone. We are safe only when everyone is safe.”
‘Safer’ for BOE to Err With Too Much Easing (6:22 a.m. NY)
It’s safer for the Bank of England to ease too much rather than too little as it responds to the coronavirus pandemic, according to policy maker Michael Saunders. The U.K. is at risk of a relatively slow recovery from the crisis, which could prove especially damaging, Saunders said on a webinar Thursday. Failing to add more stimulus now could see the economy slip into a “lowflation trap.”
“The costs of policy error are, to an extent, asymmetric at present,” he said. “It is safer to err on the side of easing somewhat too much, and then if necessary tighten as capacity pressures eventually build, rather than ease too little and find the economy gets stuck in a low-inflation rut.” The pound slid after the comments and money markets moved to price in a 10 basis-point interest-rate cut for May 2021. That would take the key rate to zero.
Synthetic Bio Pioneer Ginkgo Raises $70 Million (6 a.m. NY)
Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. has raised $70 million in an effort to build out DNA-based Covid-19 testing on a massive scale. The firm is best known for its efforts to design, modify and manufacture organisms to make industrial processes cheaper and more efficient — for example, it’s working to help program bacteria for treatments as living medicines. Now, Gingko is looking to repurpose the DNA-sequencing and automation infrastructure it developed to read and modify living cells to help address the nation’s shortfall of diagnostic testing.
The U.S. has vastly scaled up its testing and is now processing somewhere between 300,000 and 450,000 each day, according to The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer initiative to compile virus data. But those numbers still fall far short of the tens of millions that some experts have suggested are needed daily to reopen the economy safely and return to a new normal.
DNA sequencing, Gingko is betting, might allow those efforts to scale up far more rapidly and cheaply to help achieve that end. The company is worth about $4.2 billion, based on a September effort that raised $290 million. The latest round includes investors such as DNA-sequencing giant Illumina Inc.
Google Launches ‘Scam Spotter’ (6 a.m. NY)
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has created “Scam Spotter” in partnership with Cybercrime Support Network, an organization that supports victims of online crimes. The website is intended to simplify and organize expert advice about coronavirus-related scams. Scammers have taken advantage of “fear and uncertainty,” around the virus, leading to approximately $40 million in fraud losses, Google said.
Indonesia Death Toll Rises Amid Plans to Ease Curbs (5:45 p.m. HK)
The death toll from coronavirus pandemic in Indonesia rose to 1,496, the highest in Southeast Asia, as officials weighed plans to relax social distancing measures and reopen the economy. Tests confirmed new infections in 687 patients in the past 24 hours, taking the total count to 24,538. East Java, home to the nation’s second-largest city and a major industrial hub, reported 171 new cases, the most among the nation’s 34 provinces.
The government is working on a plan to allow tourists to return to Bali by July, National Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said. Authorities are also drawing up plans for a gradual exit from strict social distancing measures, including in capital Jakarta, to pave the way for a V-shaped recovery in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Meanwhile Malaysia reported the smallest increase in new cases since March 12 as the country expects to end its months-long lockdown in early June. And Philippines is planning to further ease restrictions in the capital region starting June 1, which would reopen most businesses and mass transport, even as reported daily infections rose to a record.
Euro-Area Confidence Inches Up (5 p.m. HK)
Economic sentiment in the euro area rose from a record low after companies started to reopen across the continent following the easing of restrictions. A small pickup in the European Commission gauge is consistent with similar reports in recent weeks that suggest the 19-nation region is slowly working its way out of the worst crisis in living memory. At the same time, the loss of jobs and business to weeks of lockdowns is likely to leave lasting damage on the fabric of the economy.
Swiss Allow Sex Work But Not Judo in Reopening (4:41 p.m. HK)
Swiss politicians have decided that sex workers can soon get back to business while sports and activities involving close physical contact such as judo, boxing, wrestling and dancing will remain prohibited.
Prostitution is legal in Switzerland and can resume from June 6, along with cinemas, nightclubs and public pools, the government announced this week. Yet sports and activities that involve “close and constant” physical contact remain forbidden in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Li Says China’s Economy Can Grow (4:40 p.m. HK)
China’s economy can grow this year if the key tasks set out by the government, including ensuring employment and people’s livelihoods, are achieved, according to Premier Li Keqiang.
It is “practical and realistic” to not set a numerical growth target this year as China is not immune from the economic shocks brought about by the pandemic, the premier said at a press conference as the annual parliament session closed on Thursday. Li said the government has the ability to take further action should the outlook deteriorate.
Citigroup To Start Bringing London Traders Back (4:15 p.m. HK)
Citigroup Inc. will gradually start bringing traders back to its London offices in the coming weeks as U.K. leaders continue to craft plans to ease social distancing restrictions.
The firm will begin by restoring traders and other employees from its markets and securities services unit to its offices in London, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The firm has told employees in its investment bank to expect to continue working from home, according to the people.
Roche Partners With Gilead (4:09 p.m. HK)
Roche Holding AG and Gilead Sciences Inc. are initiating a late-stage trial of a two-drug combination in hopes of creating a new weapon in the battle against Covid-19. The study will pair Roche’s immune suppressor Actemra along with Gilead’s antiviral remdesivir, the only drug shown so far to fight the coronavirus, in treating patients with severe pneumonia. The results of the combination will be compared to those from patients who receive remdesivir and a placebo.
The trial adds to the blizzard of research into existing medicines against Covid-19. While antivirals seek to stop viruses from replicating, drugs like Actemra -- often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis -- aim to counter harmful levels of inflammation, sometimes called a cytokine storm, that can be just as damaging as the infection itself.
Russian Recoveries Exceed New Cases Again (3:53 p.m. HK)
Confirmed cases rose by 8,371 over the past day to 379,051 while 8,785 people recovered, bringing the total to 150,993. This is the third straight day the daily number of recoveries has exceeded new cases as the outbreak shows signs of stabilizing in Russia.
The data comes as Moscow prepares to ease a lockdown imposed since the end of March after President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia has passed the peak of the pandemic. City authorities managed “not only to stabilize the situation, but significantly improve it,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told Putin on Wednesday. “We can already talk about the next steps to get out of this crisis.”
Travel Companies Urge U.K. to Drop Quarantine Plans (3:41 p.m. HK)
More than 70 executives from travel firms have written to the U.K. government calling for the dropping of a controversial quarantine plan that will apply to passengers entering the U.K. from June 8. The signatories include The Ritz, Claridges, The Dorchester and Mandarin Oriental.
“The very last thing the travel industry needs is a mandatory quarantine imposed on all arriving passengers which will deter foreign visitors from coming here, deter U.K. visitors from traveling abroad and, most likely, cause other countries to impose reciprocal quarantine requirements on British visitors, as France has already announced,” according to the letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel.
EasyJet to Cut Jobs, SAS Seeks Funding (3:25 p.m. HK)
EasyJet Plc will cut thousands of jobs representing as much as 30% of the workforce to cope with a long-term hit to demand from the coronavirus crisis. Europe’s second-biggest discount carrier will begin employee consultations on the cuts in coming days, it said. The Luton, England-based firm has about 15,000 employees, suggesting 4,500 posts are at risk.
Earlier, SAS AB slumped 15% after Scandinavia’s main carrier warned shareholders it will need to generate more funding to see it through the crisis.
Virus Clusters Surface in Korea, Japan (3:16 p.m. HK)
South Korea will temporarily close museums, parks and galleries in Seoul and surrounding cities after reporting its biggest spike in new cases in nearly two months, raising fears of a second wave of infections. The country reported 79 new cases, about double the new infections reported a day earlier and marked the highest number of cases since April 5 when it registered 81. The total number of confirmed cases reached 11,344, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
The surge came as health authorities were investigating a new outbreak at a distribution center for Softbank-backed Coupang Corp., an e-commerce company known for its “rocket delivery” service, which has increased in popularity as more Koreans have turned to online shopping in the wake of pandemic. So far, 82 cases have been linked to the distribution center with the numbers likely to rise as health authorities complete testing of more than 4,000 known contacts.
Small clusters have also emerged in several locations in Japan, including the capital, in its first week since a state of emergency was lifted nationwide. More than four people were found to be infected at a hospital in western Tokyo, Nippon Television reported. At least 18 others, mostly patients, are being tested after showing symptoms including fever. In the southwestern city of Kitakyushu, an uptick in new cases -- 22 infections in five days, after more than three weeks without a single case -- prompted the government to send its virus cluster response team to investigate.
Glaxo Targets Vaccine Booster (2:45 p.m. HK)
Glaxo says its adjuvant can reduce the amount of vaccine required per dose, allowing more people to be immunized, and create longer-lasting immunity, according to a statement Thursday. The U.K. drugmaker is also working to develop a vaccine, but the two efforts are separate. “More than one vaccine will be needed to address this global pandemic,” Roger Connor, president of Glaxo’s vaccines operation, said in the statement.
Masks Work, Japan Panel Says (9 a.m. HK)
Mask-wearing -- anathema to many in the U.S. -- is one reason why Japan has avoided the heavy coronavirus death tolls seen in many parts of the world, according to the government’s expert panel on the pandemic.
While face-coverings have sparked angry confrontations in some parts of the world, and were initially dismissed as ineffective by the World Health Organization, they have long been part of everyday life in Japan. But they won’t be enough for the country to maintain its strong record on containing the virus.
Disney Taking ‘Baby Steps’ to Reopen Parks (7:35 a.m. HK)
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek is planning to be more cautious than other theme-park operators in reopening attractions, saying he wants to take extra time to build trust with customers.
The company aims to begin admitting guests back in its parks in Florida in mid-July. Meanwhile, rivals such as Comcast Corp.’s Universal Studios and SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. plan to begin reopening their parks in the state early next month.
Merchant Sailors Trapped at Sea (7:25 a.m. HK)
Even as countries try returning to some semblance of pre-pandemic life, ongoing restrictions are wearing thin a crucial human link in the global supply chain.
More than 200,000 seafarers stuck on merchant ships carrying everything from medical supplies to grain and oil are at increasing risk of mental and physical fatigue as port restrictions and canceled flights snarl the ability of vessels to change crews, according to the International Chamber of Shipping.
We’re sitting GREAT my friend. CHEF is STRONG $$$$$$$$
Reuters) - Moderna Inc has extended a deal to secure large volumes of the lipids used to produce its experimental COVID-19 vaccine as the U.S. biotech looks to build capacity and produce enough doses to meet expected global demand.
The company on Thursday signed an agreement with Swiss firm CordenPharma for the supply of large-scale volumes of lipid excipients used to produce its vaccine candidate.
There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, and experts predict a safe and effective vaccine could take 12 to 18 months from the start of development.
Vaccines are seen by world leaders as the only real way to restart their economies after months of lockdowns. However, there is a growing concern that some nations, including the United States, could seek to hoard a successful candidate as initial manufacturing capacity is unlikely to be sufficient to meet global demand.
Moderna said last week that its vaccine candidate, the first to be tested in the United States, produced protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers, offering a glimmer of hope for a vaccine among the most advanced in development.
"This expansion will increase supply of lipid excipients used to manufacture our mRNA products," Moderna's chief technical operations and quality officer, Juan Andres, said.
Moderna plans to supply millions of doses per month in 2020 and tens of millions a month in 2021 if the vaccine proves successful.
The company has signed a 10-year deal with Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza to help speed up manufacturing the vaccine with the aim to reach up to a billion doses annually.
Moderna's shares were up 2% before the bell on Thursday.
Where is ALL my DD for this stick moderator. Fungus and I are in a bout about True DD and false speculation. Please explain
Moving North $$$$$$$
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) and Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS) have signed a 10-year agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize the next-generation cancer therapeutics in Arcus' pipeline. The agreement also gives Gilead an equity position in the small-cap, clinical-stage biotech company. Shares of Gilead inched up 0.7% Wednesday on the news, but investors apparently thought Arcus didn't drive a hard enough bargain -- its stock fell 13% to $29. Notably, at Tuesday's close Arcus shares were up 232% year to date in part due to rumors of the deal.
Arcus is developing both small-molecule and monoclonal antibody drugs that target mechanisms that tumors use to evade the immune system, as well as pathways important for cancer growth and metastasis. The company has six preclinical compounds under study and four molecules being evaluated in 10 clinical trials, including a phase 2 study of a combination of three of its molecules as a first-line treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer. Other clinical trials are underway for its drugs as treatments for colorectal cancer and tumors of the prostate, pancreas, kidney, and breast.
Pills and a dollar bill.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Gilead, which is strengthening its oncology portfolio under new CEO Daniel O'Day, will pay Arcus $175 million in cash up front and make a $200 million equity investment in the company at a price of $33.54 per share. Gilead gets immediate rights to zimberelimab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, and the right to opt into the other Arcus clinical candidates for fees between $200 million and $275 million and milestone payments of as much as $500 million.
The biotech giant also has the right to opt into all other programs that emerge from Arcus research over the next 10 years, and can purchase up to 35% of Arcus' outstanding shares at $33.54, or 120% of the share price when the option is exercised, whichever is higher.
Got out and riding free shares old fart!!!! Geeze u can’t fix stupid with u. I’ll try and give u another runner very soon... hahahahaha
Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, -0.21% were down 0.4% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the drugmaker said it inked a 10-year deal to develop and commercialize Arcus Biosciences Inc.'s RCUS, -6.26% investigational immuno-oncology therapies. Arcus's stock was down 7.5% before the market opened. Gilead will make a $175 million upfront payment and take a $200 million equity stake, and an additional $1.6 billion will be available for milestone payments and R&D funding. Last month people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that Gilead was considering a stake in Arcus. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Since the start of the year, Gilead's stock has gained 12.6%, after a series of rallies spurred by the market response to its COVID-19 treatment remdesivir getting emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Year-to-date, shares of Arcus have soared 232.1%, and the S&P 500 SPX, +1.22% is down 7.4%.
Canada’s recreation cannabis sales grew by 19% in March to reach CA$181.1 million ($131.5 million), ahead of most U.S. states, according to Cantor Fitzgerald.
Analyst Pablo Zuanic said that Canada’s March sales data was significantly ahead of Cantor’s mid-single digit estimate, partly due to pantry loading, but also on account of continued Cannabis 2.0 rollouts.
Ratings And Price Targets
Cantor analyst Pablo Zuanic maintained the following ratings and price targets on cannabis stocks:
Overweight
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) with a CA$27 price target.
Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) with a CA$9.55 price target.
OrganiGram Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: OGI) with a price target of CA$5.60.
Neutral
Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE: CGC) with a price target of CA$25.
Tilray Inc (NASDAQ: TLRY) with a price target of $8.
Underweight
Hexo Corp (NYSE: HEXO) with a price target of CA$0.72.
Cantor's Cannabis Takeaways
Comparing Canada’s 17th month of recreational cannabis sales with Colorado's figures indicates that the country’s market may grow to CA$14 billion by the end of 2024, Zuanic said in the industry note.
So far, the best performers in the first quarter are Aphria, with 53% sales growth, and Aurora Cannabis and Tilray, with sales growth in the mid-20% range, the analyst said.
Canopy Growth is scheduled to report its March quarter results Friday.
Zuanic named Aphria and Aurora Cannabis as top picks.
It's truly incredible what a difference a year has made in the North American cannabis industry. Throughout most of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, pot stocks were pretty much unstoppable. Sales growth expectations were through the roof, and Canada had recently become the first industrialized country in the modern era to OK the sale of adult-use weed. It looked as if nothing could go wrong -- and then everything did.
In Canada, regulators struggled to approve cultivation and sales licenses, delayed the launch of high-margin derivatives (e.g., edibles, infused beverages, and vapes), and, at the provincial level, badly botched the retail licensing process in Ontario (the most-populous province). Meanwhile, in the U.S., high tax rates in key states like California made it virtually impossible for licensed producers to compete with the black market on price. And as the cherry on top, North American cannabis stocks have struggled with access to traditional forms of financing.
This 180 in marijuana stocks has been especially noticeable for the most popular pot stock in the world, Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB).
A smoldering cannabis bud that's beginning to turn black.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Aurora Cannabis' painful fall from grace
At this time last year, Aurora Cannabis was forecast to be the leading global cannabis producer, with its 15 properties capable of producing more than 650,000 kilos of marijuana at their peak. It also had a broader international presence than any other pot stock, with production, export, partnership, or research operations in 24 countries outside of Canada. According to Wall Street, Aurora was on track for well over $600 million Canadian in fiscal 2020 sales and would likely be on the cusp of profitability.
But over the past year, we've witnessed Aurora Cannabis halt construction at two of its largest projects to conserve capital (Aurora Sun in Alberta and Aurora Nordic 2 in Denmark), lay off 500 workers, rework its debt covenants, and put its 1 million-square-foot Exeter greenhouse up for sale. Today, Wall Street's fiscal 2020 estimates call for only CA$278 million in revenue and a loss per share of well over CA$1.
It's been my contention recently that Aurora, which boasts CA$4.72 billion in total assets, will have little choice but to take significant writedowns on its goodwill, inventory, and property, plant, and equipment in the quarters that lie ahead. Even after CA$1.02 billion in impairments from the fiscal second quarter, more than half of the company's assets look suspect, in my view.
A businessman holding up a for sale sign.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Aurora's Exeter sale points to the seriousness of capacity struggles in the cannabis space
Quantifying my skepticism for Aurora Cannabis can be difficult at times, especially when figures like goodwill rely on future projections and some finger-crossing. But based on a recent sale by Aurora Cannabis, the evidence is growing that it -- and many of its peers -- will have some big adjustments to make in the not-so-distant future.
As reported by Marijuana Business Daily a little more than a week ago, Aurora Cannabis wound up selling the Exeter greenhouse, which sat on 69 acres, for CA$8.6 million. This was roughly half the CA$17 million asking price for Exeter and 33% of the original purchase price of CA$26 million paid by MedReleaf for the greenhouse and 95-acres of adjacent land. This might not sound like much, at least in nominal dollar terms, but it tells quite the story with regard to capacity demand at the moment.
When Aurora spent a whopping CA$2.64 billion to buy MedReleaf, the expectation was that it would eventually see 140,000 kilos of annual output for its trouble, with 105,000 kilos coming from Exeter. But a plethora of Canadian supply issues, coupled with Aurora's own overzealous spending, never allowed that to happen. Aurora chose not to retrofit Exeter and, this past week, seemingly fire-sold the property.
This essentially means that Aurora paid CA$2.64 billion to acquire 35,000 kilos of annual output and MedReleaf's brands -- and a quick look at Canadian licensed producers shows that 35,000 kilos of annual output can be had today for well under CA$100 million in market cap. This 67% decline from when MedReleaf bought this asset in 2018 to when Aurora sold it last week demonstrates just how overvalued property, plant, and equipment might be on the balance sheets of Canadian licensed producers.
The U.S. Oil Fund USO, -3.87% said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may be limited in its ability to buy oil futures and may be required to invest in other permitted investments including other oil-related interests and may hold larger amounts of Treasuries, cash and cash equivalents. "Significant market volatility has occurred and is continuing in the crude oil markets and the oil futures markets. Such volatility is attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, disputes among oil-producing countries over the potential limits on the production of crude oil, a corresponding collapse in demand for crude oil and a lack of on-land storage for crude oil. These conditions have severely limited USO's ability to have a substantial portion of its assets invested in the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract and certain other Oil Futures Contracts of the same month, such as cash-settled, but substantially similar, oil futures contracts traded on ICE Futures," the fund said.
Waitr Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: WTRH) ("Waitr" or the "Company"), a leader in on-demand food ordering and delivery, today announced a new partnership with Five Guys as it expands its delivery selection for diners. Effective immediately, customers using the Waitr app can order their favorite foods from more than 150 Five Guys locations around the nation.
"We know, especially now, our customers are looking to us to deliver their favorite meals from a wider variety of restaurants. Adding the Five Guys brand to Waitr is an example of how we are meeting their requests," said Carl Grimstad, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Waitr. "I love eating at Five Guys and now I can have it delivered to my home."
Over the past several weeks, Waitr has announced it is delivering same-day groceries; offering No-Contact delivery for all restaurant and grocery orders; working with restaurant partners to waive customer delivery fees; deploying free restaurant marketing programs, taking donations to feed the hungry, and providing gloves, masks and sanitation spray to drivers. The company has also committed to paying any employee who gets quarantined or contracts the virus.
About Waitr Holdings Inc.
Founded in 2013 and based in Lafayette, Louisiana, Waitr is a leader in on-demand food ordering and delivery. Waitr, and its sister brand Bite Squad, connects local restaurants and grocery stores to hungry diners in underserved U.S. markets. Together they are a convenient way to discover, order and receive great food from local restaurants, grocery stores and national chains. As of March 31, 2020, Waitr and Bite Squad operated in small and medium sized markets in the United States in over 600 cities.
By Medha Singh and Uday Sampath Kumar
May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures surged on Tuesday as business restarts and optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine helped investors returning from a long weekend to overlook Sino-U.S. tensions.
U.S. biotech group Novavax Inc jumped 21% in premarket trading as it joined the race to test coronavirus vaccine candidates on humans and enrolled its first participants.
Merck & Co Inc advanced 3.2% as it announced plans to develop two separate vaccines.
Wall Street's main indexes have risen sharply from March lows, gaining 3% last week, on hopes of an eventual coronavirus antidote and easing of virus-related curbs.
"The markets are focusing more on healthcare related news getting better and the possibility for a vaccine by the end of the year and the potential for increased economic activity as more and mores states reopen," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.
California can now reopen in-store retail businesses and places of worship following shutdowns in one of the most restrictive coronavirus containment rules in the United States.
Spain urged foreign holidaymakers to return from July and Britain was looking to reopen thousands of High Street shops and shopping centers next month.
The beaten down travel-related stocks soared with United Airlines Holdings Inc, online travel agency Expedia Group Inc, hotel operator Marriott International Inc rose between 5.1% and 7%.
Cruise companies Royal Caribbean Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Carnival Corp rose about 8%.
At 7:36 a.m. ET, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.74% to 3,004 points. The futures contract broke through 2,988.38, a 200-day simple moving average, suggesting a strong day ahead for U.S. stocks.
Dow e-minis were up 469 points, or 1.92%. and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 148.25 points, or 1.58%.
Later in the day, the Conference Board's data is expected to show consumer confidence index edged up slightly after hitting a six-year low in April.
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s (GILD) remdesivir, its coronavirus drug candidate, is most “beneficial” for Covid-19 patients who require supplemental oxygen but don’t need mechanical ventilation, according to a study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
"Ultimately, the findings support remdesivir as the standard therapy for patients hospitalized with Covid-19 and requiring supplemental oxygen therapy," the report said, citing preliminary results from the randomized, controlled trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Over a 10-day course, patients received the antiviral remdesivir intravenously and a placebo. The report showed that patients who received remdesivir had a shorter time to recovery than those who received placebo. The median time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received placebo.
“These findings support the use of remdesivir in this population, with the largest benefit observed among individuals who required oxygen supplementation but were not mechanically ventilated,” said Merdad Parsey, Chief Medical Officer, at Gilead Sciences.
Parsey added that Gilead expects results from its Phase 3 SIMPLE-Severe study, which is evaluating experimental remdesivir in a similar population of Covid-19 patients, to be published in the “near future”.
At the end of this month, Gilead expects to receive results from its Phase 3 SIMPLE-Moderate study, which is evaluating remdesivir in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 and lung involvement not requiring oxygen supplementation.
“Beyond the ongoing studies of remdesivir, we look forward to the initiation of combination studies of remdesivir to understand whether the addition of other drugs may enhance patient outcomes,” Parsey said.
Shares in Gilead dropped 13% so far this month after gaining 29% in the January to April period.
Following talks with Gilead’s management on May 18, five-star analyst Hartaj Singh at Oppenheimer said he remained bullish on the stock by maintaining a Buy rating with a $90 price target (23% upside to current level).
“A potential inhaled (nebulized) version of remdesivir (data 2H20) could increase remdesivir availability by a factor of 3x to 4x (vs. current),” Singh wrote in a note to investors.
According to the analyst, management was also preparing a business case for remdesivir potentially updating investors over the next few weeks.
“While we believe the GILD P&L is building sales/earnings momentum, the budding pipeline story is starting to catch our eye,” Singh wrote. “We believe GILD remains steadfast in bringing life-altering medicines to market. With a 4% dividend yield, $2.5 to $3B in FCF/quarter, and non-GAAP operating margins of >50%, we see a company positioned for success, in spite of the current investor pessimism.”
TipRanks data shows that the majority of 15 analysts have a Hold rating on the stock, while the rest are divided between 8 Buys and 5 Sells, adding up to a Hold consensus. The $79.09 average price target is less optimistic than Singh’s as it indicates a mere 7.8% upside potential in the shares in the coming 12 months. (See Gilead stock analysis on TipRanks)
Carnival is one of the highest-profile corporate victims of the pandemic. The company suffered several massive outbreaks of the disease on its Princess line of cruises and recorded a $731 goodwill impairment charge in the first quarter after writing down the value of its vessels. These challenges have sent the stock down over 70% year to date. But Carnival has enough liquidity to sail through the pandemic.
The company raised a huge amount of capital to help it weather the crisis. The company undertook a public offering of 62.5 million shares priced at $8 and a debt raise of $4 billion in 11.5% senior secured notes, along with $1.75 billion in 5.75% senior convertible notes, both due in 2023. According to CEO Arnold Donald, Carnival has enough cash to make it through 2020 even it generates zero revenue for the rest of the year, a worst-case scenario.
On May 4, Carnival announced plans to resume North American service on Aug. 1, but this will depend on whether or not the CDC lifts its no-sail order by then. But even if Carnival doesn't sail for the rest of the year, 2021 bookings are strong according CEO Arnold Donald. This suggests there is significant pent-up cruise demand among consumers, and the cruise operator may quickly return to profitability when restrictions are lifted.
The courtship between Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Reliva began, as many such romances do, at a gathering of industry bigwigs and bankers.
It was not quite love at first sight.
Well ahead of the first meeting at a 2019 conference run by an investment bank, Aurora ACB, -7.98% ACB, -6.72% had been shopping for a way to enter the U.S. market for some time, saying so publicly on earnings calls and in interviews with MarketWatch. But it took Aurora months to seriously vet Reliva as an acquisition target, the chief executives at both companies told MarketWatch in a telephone interview this week.
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Months after that first meeting, Aurora’s executive team flew to Boston and met with Reliva, a company that specializes in cannabidiol, or CBD. For 48 hours, bosses from Aurora and Reliva visited wholesale and bricks-and-mortar stores and talked about the business, with Aurora interim CEO Michael Singer telling MarketWatch they learned enough in those two days to begin seriously evaluating Reliva.
More on the deal: Aurora Cannabis makes long-awaited push into U.S. with Reliva acquisition
“We learned a lot about Miguel [Martin] and a lot about the Reliva story, and he got to learn about the Aurora corporate story,” Singer said in a telephone interview. “When we think about [Aurora’s] reset plan, we think this was a responsible and strategic acquisition. It’s not just about the U.S.”
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Aurora’s lawyers worked furiously to vet Reliva, checking out its operations, staff and intellectual property, though Singer says there was not much IP to consider. Reliva CEO Miguel Martin and other top staff visited Aurora’s board in Toronto — at a time when that was still possible — and several “long and thoughtful conversations” occurred before both sides became comfortable enough to wed, Singer said.
Closely held Reliva had already been trying to attract capital: it had been out looking for cash at $40 million pre-money valuation from venture capitalists, among others, according to two people familiar with the matter. That would be roughly three times Reliva’s annual revenue of $13 million to $14 million, Aurora confirmed Friday.
Instead, Reliva accepted $40 million in Aurora stock to sell the company outright, with another $45 million in potential earn-outs, as the companies announced Wednesday. When Aurora announced the deal, its largely retail investor base reacted positively, bidding up the price of Aurora stock after shares had already posted two days of 50% gains in response to its earnings report.
More: Aurora Cannabis shares skyrocket on hopes worst is behind Canadian weed company
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If successful, the acquisition will help Aurora establish a beachhead in the U.S. via a CBD asset and help to grow its partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is owned by a number of closely held venture-capital firms. But analysts are not portraying the deal as a no-doubt home run. Jefferies lowered its price target on Aurora stock to C$12 ($9.99) from C$14, to take into account estimates for Reliva.
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In a note to clients Friday, Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett wrote that the deal’s timing and this particular acquisition is odd and the company’s focus on adjusted profits warrants a “close look.” In the news release announcing the deal, Aurora touted Reliva as “profitable,” but Singer told MarketWatch it meant on an adjusted basis, not using standard accounting.
“There is still no permanent CEO to lead this CBD push, the CBD space is experiencing significant headwinds currently, there is further dilution at a questionable multiple which has been a criticism of the past,” Bennett wrote. “Further, it potentially clouds the true underlying [earnings before interest taxes deductions amortization] delivery in [the first quarter] which could now be propped up by this deal.”
Reliva operates in a crowded market — there are likely hundreds of companies in the U.S. making cannabidiol, or CBD products — that is difficult to stand out in. While Aurora cited a report predicting the “CBD opportunity” to be $24 billion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not issued clear guidance on the substance. Cannabis with tiny amounts of THC, called hemp, was legalized by the U.S. congress in late 2018, but the FDA has made clear that it is illegal to make food, drinks and cosmetic products with CBD as it figures out how to regulate the compound.
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Aurora Cannabis on CEO search during a pandemic: drone tours, no handshakes
Martin says that while the FDA’s stance is important, he’s equally focused on state legalization — 41 have passed laws around CBD, which is a nonintoxicating compound found in the marijuana plant.
Reliva makes CBD products, but its true strength lies in its distribution network. Martin says that there are about 50,000 stores that sell CBD in the U.S. at the moment, and his company is selling products in 20,000 of them. And when Martin talks about stores, he’s referring to convenience stores like Circle K, which is owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. ATD.A, +1.41% ATD.B, +2.37% , a multinational operator of convenience stores based in Laval, Quebec.
Martin says the company’s main pitch for its products is that they are cheap: they’re all under $20, while rival Lord Jones, which was acquired by Cronos Group Inc. CRON, +8.06% CRON, +8.49%, sells 30 gel capsules for $95.
Price could be key amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Martin noting that disposable incomes are down. It could also hurt the business overall, though, as Martin admitted that the pandemic has impacted sales with a serious decline in foot traffic at convenience stores.
Martin said products have remained for sale, but the impact is unclear for the busy season — that’s May to September for the sorts of retailers on which Reliva relies. The summer months tend to be more lucrative quite simply because the weather is better.
“We have a seasonal business,” Martin said in a telephone interview.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is “cautiously optimistic” about Moderna Inc's (NASDAQ: MRNA) coronavirus vaccine candidate and told NPR that, if proven successful, it could be ready for use at the end of 2020.
Moderna's stock ticked up about 4% Friday morning following his comments.
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What Fauci Said
"Although the numbers were limited, it was quite good news because it reached and went over an important hurdle in the development of vaccines,” Fauci said Thursday at a CNN town hall. “That's the reason why I'm cautiously optimistic about it."
In early Phase 1 trial data released Monday, the vaccine was seen to trigger antibody responses in eight healthy volunteers and found to be “generally safe and well-tolerated.”
Fauci acknowledged to NPR that the data has not been peer reviewed, but, “having looked at the data myself, it is really quite promising.”
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He noted that the peer review process would happen perhaps within weeks, and additional studies of the candidate have been accelerated.
"What we're doing right now" in examining multiple candidates, "is that you even start" making doses "before you are completely sure that it works," he told NPR. With this strategy, doses could be ready by the end of the year or early 2021.
In the meantime, the threat of infection persists. Fauci warned that a second wave of outbreaks may come as states continue to loosen mitigation policies.
Data from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ study on the Gilead Sciences Covid-19 antiviral remdesivir was published by the New England Journal of Medicine Friday night. The data show what investors already knew: Remdesivir is not a Covid-19 miracle cure for all, but it could shorten the time of recovery in some infected patients.
The findings showed patients that needed oxygen supplementation but not mechanical ventilators saw the largest benefit from the drug, according to Merdad Parsey, Gilead’s (ticker: GILD) chief medical officer.
“We are pleased that the findings from the NIAID trial of remdesivir in hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 have been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal,” Parsey said in a news release.
Still, Scripps Research Translational Institute director Eric Topoltold STAT News that though the drug is safe and effective, he didn’t see signs of benefits in the patients that began the study with the most severe cases, like those already needing ventilation. “We need to get something that works for these patients who have a high mortality rate,” Topol said.
In the news release, Parsey added that Gilead is looking forward to the start of combination studies of remdesivir to see if adding other drugs could make for a more effective treatment.
The Food and Drug Administration gave remdesivir emergency approval at the start of May after the NIAID said its randomized, controlled trial of the drug found it shortened the recovery time for Covid-19 patients.
The dot-com bubble almost two decades ago inflicted painful stock losses on historically bullish investors. Mega-caps like Apple saw its equity crash, only to later grow far beyond once expensive valuations. New products were in inning one of a fruitful road to ubiquity. I believe a similar opportunity is materializing in the cannabis sector today.
In Canada, federal legalization is in year two of its highly publicized roll out. Sky-high expectations led to ridiculous valuations and returns for investors early on. Since then, store bottlenecks and product limitations led to a series of industry disappointments and huge stock tumbles.
bull and bear
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Just like the QQQ Nasdaq ETF tanked 80% from peak to trough after 2001, the MJ Cannabis ETF fell nearly 80% since 2019. Just like for technology 20 years ago, help for the cannabis industry is on the way as well.
Improving Environment
As much as these companies were overvalued in the past (2018-2019), that is how undervalued they are today. With cannabis being designated as essential in Canada, store openings continued and the bottle necks that plagued producers actually eased. Early on, Canada used a lottery system that drastically slowed store rollouts in the country.
A lottery meant licenses were awarded based on luck of the draw instead of quality of application, blocking some applicants ready to open stores from doing so. That has since been solved, with licenses now awarded to those most capable of success. The Result? Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, saw total retail stores grow 50% (from 40 to 60) in recent weeks, with 292 more in progress. Since the beginning of April, the country has added 50 dispensaries total with hundreds more planned.
This makes regulated cannabis incrementally more available to consumers compared to the black market. If there are no stores, people will continue purchasing product less safely, with less oversight and with no tax revenue for the Canadian government. Thanks to shops, people have access to safer product, and extensive educational resources via employees.
I am not saying the next Apple will be born out of tough times for the cannabis industry. I am, however, confident that there are quality companies that will thrive when the storm dissipates. To me, Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) is best in breed to win going forward.
Poised to Gain
With Aurora's industry low production cost of $0.85 per gram, they have pricing flexibility with products. No other company produces for under $1.00 and most are well above that mark. This enabled Aurora's newly introduced value brand leading directly to a large beat in first quarter sales.
Inventory has swelled, but industry low growing costs equip Aurora with the ability to profitably adjust by undercutting legal and illegal competition if need be. They finally hit the sweet spot in cost that rivals black markets but with quality and consistency that far exceeds it. That is the recipe for success going forward.
Another tide that will lift all Canadian producer boats: Cannabis 2.0, a program started in January. Licensed companies can now sell higher margin derivative products to medical and recreational consumers. Not only will this help profit ratios, but it opens the door for new consumers too.
Combustible products are just not appealing for some. An edible, drinkable or trans-dermal means of consumption is simply less intimidating, and more approachable to many. Aurora Cannabis has extensive product lines within cannabis 2.0 categories that are performing well early on.
Easing Concerns
Aurora's sales multiple of 6x is among the cheapest in the industry. Investors have well-placed liquidity concerns, but so far so good. The cannabis company renegotiated and relaxed debt covenants to add flexibility to their balance sheet and buy time. Aurora muted concerns further by bolstering access to credit revolvers. Banks are clearly working with this company.
CEO Michael Singer is confident they remain on track for positive EBITDA by the first quarter next year, well before many. Through the pandemic Aurora's cash position actually grew and cash burn improved sizably. To me, this depicts a company capable to getting to positive cash flow, thanks to flexibility among creditors.
Revenue growth of 18% this quarter is nice, but only the beginning. As retail infrastructure expands and new countries legalize I am confident that number will improve. Another secret weapon for juicing sales: Aurora's recent acquisition of Reliva. This gives Singer's team much needed exposure to the American CBD market. Aurora announced the new revenue stream will be accretive to EBITDA immediately.
For the Canadian cannabis industry, frothy investor confidence turned ugly, quickly. The dot-com bubble left us with great opportunities at compelling valuations; a similar cannabis falling out has already occurred and I plan to take advantage with Aurora. All producers have a near-term addressable market growing and long-term demand trajectories still promising success. Aurora has the goods to maximize these bullish trends.
Depends on your entry point! Buy low and sell high
As more states open,,,,,, higher the prices go$$$$$$
Aurora Cannabis stock spiked yet again late Wednesday after the Canadian pot producer announced an acquisition to enter the U.S. retail CBD market for the first time — even as rivals lament the lack of clarity surrounding regulations of the substance. Other marijuana stocks rose late too.
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After the close, Aurora Cannabis (ACB) said it would buy Reliva, a CBD retail brand in the U.S., in an all-stock deal. Reliva will get around $40 million of Aurora Cannabis stock. The deal also includes a possible earn-out — or an arrangement for future payments depending on how well the deal goes — of up to $45 million.
That $45 million is payable in Aurora stock, cash, or both over the next two years, and hinges on Reliva's ability to hit certain financial goals. The companies expect the deal to close in June. Cowen advised Aurora on the deal.
Aurora said it expected the deal to immediately add to its profits — on an "adjusted" EBITDA basis — as it tries to reach profitability by that measure in the first quarter of its next fiscal year. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Unlike some of its bigger rivals, Aurora has hesitated on entering the U.S. But in choosing Reliva, the company cited its focus on regulatory compliance, its management team, as well as the company's connections with trade partners and "financial discipline and track record of growth and profitability."
"We have taken the time necessary to carefully assess the Company's entry into the U.S. market and we firmly believe that the combination with Reliva will create significant long-term value as Reliva provides us options to grow in hemp-derived CBD internationally," interim CEO Michael Singer said in a statement.
The deal marks a deeper move into the U.S., after Aurora last year launched a CBD-focused research program with the UFC mixed-martial arts league.
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Aurora Cannabis Stock, Marijuana Stocks
Aurora Cannabis stock launched 33% higher after hours in the stock market today, after finishing the regular trading day 13% lower. The move higher for Aurora Cannabis stock follows a massive jump last week after the company reported quarterly sales that beat earnings.
Among other marijuana stocks, Canopy Growth (CGC) gained 2.5% after hours. Tilray (TLRY) added 1.4%. Cronos Group (CRON) rose 1.4%. Aphria (APHA) was up 1.1%.
Aurora Cannabis stock had fallen through much of last year, as worries piled up over disappointing sales and thinning cash supplies. The IBD Composite Rating for Aurora Cannabis stock is a weak 13. Its EPS Rating is 17.
Marijuana Stocks With FDA Reservations
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, a source of CBD, or cannabidiol, in 2018. The substance, also found in higher-THC cannabis plants, has brought with it a wide range of therapeutic claims, even as thorough research remains scarce.
But the FDA has clamped down on companies selling CBD, alleging a breach of its guidelines. U.S. stores selling CBD products have faced inspections. Executives in the cannabis industry have noted retailers' reluctance to sell more of it.
Cronos Group in March said it would pause the distribution of its distribution of its hemp-derived Peace+ CBD tinctures, which were set to be sold at around 1,000 U.S. retail stores. The company also said that the coronavirus pandemic had shifted regulators' priorities away from CBD.
Tilray, meanwhile, has had to book big charges related to a deal it struck with Authentic Brands Group, a marketing and entertainment company. Management for the Canadian pot company said the arrangement could make Tilray-made CBD products available for sale in the U.S.
"Given the uncertainty of the FDA stance on the sale of CBD products in the U.S., we concluded the near-term expectations for sales under this agreement did not support our balance sheet value," CFO Michael Kruteck said this month.
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while buddy, on vacation this week. Hold the fort down until I get back!!!!!
MRNA strong
Boston-based Moderna has emerged as one of the front-runners in the race to create a viable coronavirus vaccine as its Food and Drug Administration fast-track-approved trials have shown positive results.
While other companies including Pfizer (PFE) - Get Report, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Get Report, BioNTech (BNTX) - Get Report and Altimmune (ALT) - Get Report - have also been working on a coronavirus vaccine, Moderna’s previous success at producing treating for other types of infectious diseases has lifted hopes that it is on the right path to creating a successful Covid-19 vaccine.
Indeed, the announcement comes following Moderna reported positive data on its early-stage human trial for a Covid-19 vaccine earlier Monday. The closely watched vaccine trial produced Covid-19 antibodies in all 45 participants.
In a previous statement, Moderna said it expects to primarily use proceeds from the offering to fund the manufacturing and distribution of its vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273 once it’s approved by federal regulators.
Stocks Soar on Moderna Vaccine Optimism: What Wall Street’s Saying
If there are any remaining proceeds, the company hopes “to fund clinical development and drug discovery in existing and new therapeutic areas; to fund further development of its mRNA technology platform and the creation of new modalities; or to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes.”
To be sure, TheStreet's Jim Cramer cautioned investors on Monday that, while encouraging, the results were just one step in the long road toward a vaccine.
Moderna is a terrific company, Cramer said, and if anyone can speed through the drug discovery process it will likely be Moderna. But seeing crowded beaches and long lines outside reopening restaurants is too much, too soon.
For now, Cramer said investors should continue to own stocks of companies that do well in a pandemic, like his COVID-19 index.
LOOK AT You PANICKING. More DD for you SHORTY!!!!! I’d b nervous TOO hahahahaha!!!!!!
(Bloomberg) -- Betting against Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Inc. may be a risky proposition right now after a first look at its Covid-19 vaccine in humans drove the shares to fresh highs. The stock is ripe for a short squeeze, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners.
Short bets against the biotech firm have been growing since February even as the stock continued to scale new heights on optimism it may get regulatory authorization for one of the first vaccines during the global pandemic. Bears gambling against Moderna lost about $427 million Monday alone and more than $900 million so far this month, Ihor Dusaniwsky, S3’s managing director of predictive analytics, said in an email.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has continued to rally despite potential safety concerns around the highest doses of its experimental vaccine. Moderna published results from a handful of patients that many were expecting to come from the government itself after the company received more than $400 million in federal funds to develop the vaccine.
Moderna’s nearly $30 billion valuation, mainly driven by speculation on the company’s prospects in Covid-19, is giving some hedge funds pause, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) analyst Asad Haider wrote in a note dated late Friday before Moderna’s results were made public.
Specialists might be even more cautious Monday after the results showed three patients at the highest dose had severe adverse events -- a clinical term for a negative reaction that may or may not be drug related. While none of those events were life threatening, a broadly used vaccine will need to appear very safe if it’s to be given widely to healthy individuals.
‘Many Offsides’
Moderna plans to move forward with lower doses in the next step of testing. Manufacturing constraints will also be an issue for any vaccine developer as a global pandemic implies billions of people may eventually be looking for an inoculation.
Momentum among some small- to mid-cap biotechs “still seems to be catching many offsides,” Haider said. The news cycle has been “quick to trigger painful squeezes” he said, highlighting Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO) Inc.’s 43% surge last week after positive results for its cell therapy, as well as Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) Inc.’s 11% jump on Friday after disappointing gene therapy results from a major competitor.
More than $1.6 billion in shares of Sarepta and Moderna are sold short, along with about $590 million for Allogene, according to S3 data. All three are among names Dusaniwsky sees as primed for a squeeze after large mark-to-market losses this month.
Short sellers have also targeted Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD). and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)., which have been rallying on speculation about Covid-19 treatments and are among the top ten biggest shorts in biotech.
As investors look to biotech, not only to quash Covid-19 but as shelter from a roiled stock market, short sellers in the sector “have not fared well,” Dusaniwsky said. Bearish gamblers had lost $2.81 billion through Sunday, on $48.6 billion in average short interest, according to S3 data.
After announcing positive results of a study of its potential COVID-19 vaccine and seeing shares jump 20% to record highs Monday, Moderna Inc. MRNA, +19.95% announced after trading closed that it will sell more than $1 billion in fresh shares. Moderna said it plans to sell $1.25 billion worth of stock to fund manufacturing and distribution of its vaccine candidate, referred to as mRNA-1273, if it can receive regulatory approvals. Moderna announced Monday morning that a phase 1 study of its vaccine was able to produce COVID-19 antibodies, and the company has laid out plans for phase 2 and phase 3 trials in the coming months. Shares closed at a record high of $80 Monday, up more than 300% from the beginning of the year, though the stock sank 2.8% in after-hours trading Monday after Moderna announced the impending arrival of new shares. Morgan Stanley is leading the offering, and Moderna expects to offer an additional $187.5 million in shares for overallotment.
Shorting are you. Better check the longs here. Your going to get caught with your pants down.... You were warned
Great day today $$$$$)$!
Read my last post
Tweaks Moderna is making to the trial design for the Phase 2 study and discussion points raised about study locations underscore the unique challenges facing vaccine makers during the pandemic
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The people who were given Moderna Inc.’s MRNA, +20.93% coronavirus vaccine candidate in a Phase 1 clinical trial developed neutralizing antibodies, a promising finding that has propelled the vaccine into the next phase of clinical testing.
Shares of Moderna soared 25% in trading on Monday afternoon. The preclinical company’s stock has gained 241% since the start of the year; it was one of the first companies to announce plans to develop a vaccine, doing so on Jan. 23, and its mRNA candidate is widely viewed as a front-runner in the effort to develop the first vaccine for the virus. It is now the first company to announce clinical findings of a vaccine that has been tested in humans.
“These interim Phase 1 data, while early, demonstrate that vaccination with mRNA-1273 elicits an immune response of the magnitude caused by natural infection,” Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks said in a news release.
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At the same time, the tweaks that Moderna is making to the trial design for the Phase 2 study and some of the discussion points raised during an investor call on Monday about study locations for the final clinical trial underscore the unique challenges facing all manufacturers developing coronavirus vaccines during the pandemic.
In the topline interim trial results released Monday, Moderna said that eight participants taking two of the three lower dosing levels reported the same or higher level of neutralizing antibodies as in blood samples gathered by patients who have recovered from COVID-19. There were four adverse events during the trial, including one participant who reported a severe skin reaction where the investigational vaccine was administered. Three of the adverse events took place in people receiving the highest dose of the vaccine.
“While samples are not yet available for remaining participants, and we lack specifics on the exact levels of binding antibodies, we view this data as demonstrative of early signs of efficacy,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note to investors. Maxim Group’s Jason McCarthy described the data as “compelling.”
The trial is being conducted with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the company has received at least $483 million in federal funding for its vaccine candidate this year.
Going forward, the Phase 2 trial, which Moderna said has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to begin “shortly,” will have two dosing levels (50 microgram and 100 microgram), bypassing a third dosing level (250 microgram) that was included in the first phase of testing. It plans to enroll 600 participants and is expected to begin this quarter. Moderna executives told analysts that they believe the dosing level that will make into the Phase 3 trial will be between 25 micrograms and 100 micrograms.
In the Goldman note, analysts noted that “the lower doses bode well for manufacturing capacity,” a reason that many manufacturers are relying on adjuvant technology platforms marketed by GlaxoSmithKline GSK, +1.19% that helps limit the amount of vaccine needed per dose.
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Moderna also said Monday that it expects a Phase 3 trial to begin in July, if the vaccine is successful in the mid-stage trial. However, one concern raised by analysts during a call on Monday focuses on whether there will be enough people with the disease in the regions where Moderna plans to conduct the late-stage trial.
“The trial needs to be run in areas where there is still sufficient virus circulating in the general population,” McCarthy wrote. This is because there needs to be observed development of neutralizing antibodies. The safety is already there so far but if there is not enough virus out there to run the right trial, it could be problematic (for all the vaccine developers).”
However, Zaks expects the late-stage portion of testing to enroll people who are at higher risk of contracting the virus, he said Monday. “We will enroll people at risk both based on their age, based on their co-morbidities and based on their occupations and other sort of parameters that put people at risk,” he said, according to a FactSet transcript of the call.
Who’s Pumping this stock? U r kidding right.....