Back in Vax
Wall Street is back in black. Hit the sack. It’s been so long; bulls are glad to be back.
Vaccine news let ‘em loose, from the coronavirus noose that’s kept stocks hanging around.
But it wasn’t just one COVID-19 vaccine revelation that has Wall Street looking at the sky and getting high. Both Moderna Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA) and AstraZeneca Plc. (NYSE: AZN) had positive vax trial data.
In the financial media, upstart biotech, Moderna is grabbing all the headlines.
The company announced that its vax candidate “induced rapid and strong immune responses against SARS-CoV-2,” the virus that causes COVID-19. Moderna is now moving ahead with a decisive clinical trial this month.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca didn’t hype its results quite as much. AZN stock is up today following news that a medical journal is publishing positive news on the company’s coronavirus vax candidate.
That’s it. The same vaccine news we’ve heard from every single vaccine maker in the world. That’s why the market is up today — if you believe the news, that is.
The reality is that stocks are probably up because they haven’t gone anywhere meaningful in more than a week. Remember the chart I showed you on the Dow?
Other likely drivers include rising oil prices and standout earnings from investment banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) — we’ll get to that in a minute.
But Wall Street doesn’t have nine lives or even cat’s eyes, for that matter. Still, investors are abusing every one of those lives and running wild today.
I’ll be impressed if the Dow actually breaks out of its recent trading range to the upside, given the lack of substance backing today’s rally.
So, what’s an investor like you to do in this crazy market? First, read Great Stuff, of course. We’re No. 1 with a bullet and a power pack.
Second, there’s no reason to be back in vax right now, unless you day trade around announcements like today’s — and then you really are running wild.
I get it, though. You want to invest in the businesses that will power us through the pandemic. You want to find that diamond in the rough that will do more than just put your portfolio back in black.
That rebuilding of America is happening right now. And there’s no better bet for your investing buck than “America 2.0” — an economic upgrade so massive and powerful you’ll want to buy an F-150 and get a ‘Murica tattoo.
Click here for the full story — and details on the No. 1 stock for restoring America that you could buy today.
Good: Goldman is Gold, Man.
Who run the world? Goldman Sachs. Sorry, Beyoncé. (And sorry Bon Scott, for that matter.)
We all know Goldman has friends in high places, where the bourbon drowns and the champagne chases their blues away.
Wait, did you just go from Beyoncé to Garth Brooks?
Blame it all on my roots … or my Doc Marten boots.
Goldman didn’t ruin any black-tie affairs with today’s quarterly earnings report. The financial behemoth said revenue rose to $13.3 billion — its second-highest quarterly revenue ever. Earnings came in at $6.26 per share, beating Wall Street’s expectations by 65%.
The rest of Goldman’s report was a litany of ridiculous numbers despite the pandemic. Global markets revenue spiked 93%. Fixed-income investments soared $2.5 billion over last year, and equity trading hit an 11-year high.
Great Stuff still isn’t comfortable recommending any financial or banking stocks right now — interest rates are too low for good returns. And credit defaults due to the pandemic are coming … just wait.
Still, after today’s report, Goldman is on the shortlist of financial companies to watch.
Better: Comcast Struts Into Streaming
You ever seen a peacock fly? You ever seen a grown peacock … wait, I’ve just been told not to finish that reference.
Anyway, Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) strut out its new Peacock streaming service today. Unlike the convoluted mess that is AT&T Inc.’s (NYSE: T) HBO Max, Peacock has a definite plan and affordable price points.
You can watch pretty much everything NBCUniversal has to offer on Peacock with a free ad-supported subscription. If you want to ditch the ads, it’s $9.99 per month. Only $1 more than basic Netflix and $2 less than ad-free Hulu. Not too shabby.
But this price comparison doesn’t take into account Peacock Premium’s live TV offerings and sports. For an extra $4.99 per month, you get stuff like the 2021 Olympics from Tokyo and 175 Premier League matches, though the U.S. Open tennis tournament is free to watch.
So, yeah. If you’re into that there sportsball thing, Peacock appears to be taking the lead in cost-effective streaming services.
The one thing keeping me from recommending Peacock for cord-cutters is that the service isn’t launching on Roku or Amazon Fire TV — the two most-popular streaming devices on the market.
Unfortunately, that’s one lesson Comcast didn’t learn from HBO Max, which still isn’t available on Roku.
So, while Peacock may have a fighting chance against the Netflix/Hulu/Disney+ triumvirate, it follows HBO Max’s lead to severely cripple itself right out of the gate.
Best: Get Your Hanes On
Full disclosure here, dear reader: I don’t know that Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) is the best of the best for stocks today, but Raymond James made me laugh out loud (or LOL, as the kids say).
HBI stock is up more than 11% today after Raymond James upgraded it from market perform to strong buy. With a straight face, Raymond James said that Hanes could steal market share from Victoria’s Secret — due to store closures.
So, just so we’re clear … Raymond James upgraded Hanesbrands because it will steal market share from Victoria’s Secret. I can’t wait for the Hanesbrands fashion show. Since Victoria’s Secret has “angels,” what will Hanesbrands have? Devils? Parades of tighty-whities?
Before you write in — I said before! — I know that Hanesbrands offers a diverse product line that includes more than just tighty-whities and boring work pantihose.
But the thought of Victoria’s Secret customers, clad in Pink-emblazoned shorts and sweatpants opting for Hanesbrands while shopping at Walmart or Target makes me giggle.
Underwear has come a long way since the rise of Victoria’s Secret in the ‘80s, but I don’t think that Hanesbrands has come far enough to be in the same league. Just saying.
Welcome to Wednesday, where the vaccine hype is real and the underlying evidence doesn’t always matter.
Clinical results?
Pshaw, who even reads those anymore when you can just join the rally du jour?
Today, we’re talking about this whole biotech bonanza: the true vaccine candidates, the runaway overzealous rallies, the overnight gains (or losses) on inchwormlike progress in clinical trials…
With everyone and their grandmother getting into the Amazing Vaccine Race … there’s been no shortage of biotech stocks making big waves in the COVID-19 fight. Hey, Great Stuff even took a triple-digit gain on the action in Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: INO) … that’s right, just took the money, ran and never looked back.
We haven’t recommended another biotech stock in the vaccine race just yet, choosing to steer clear of the frothy hype in favor of other mega trends. (See also the financial sector, above.)
But we know you’re a curious and courageous bunch. And more than a handful of you already wrote in to brag about your gains! (And, in fairness, my condolences go out to those burned by the biotech blowouts as well.)
So, whether you’re into COVID-19 test makers or vaccine racers, we’d like to hear from you in today’s Poll!
Seriously, even if you ended up losing your Tesla red short-shorts on your biotech trade, we’d love to hear your war stories. Show us your battle scars — every one of us has them. (Anyone still holding on to pot stock pennies from the 2019 wipeout? No? K.)
By the way, if you’re curious about last week’s poll on news consumption these days — you should be curious! It turns out your fellow Great Stuff readers run the gamut of info uptake.
In fact, you Great Ones out there are evenly split into thirds between the “glued to the screen” watchers, the news avoiders and the “it’s background noise” crowd. Regardless of where you fit in, we’re glad you’re tuning in to us today. Thank you!
Great Stuff: Greater in Numbers
Thank you for answering our Poll of the Week! (And if you didn’t, it’ll only take a sec. I’m on to you, skimmers.)
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GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is where the party is at. And you might even see your email in tomorrow’s jam-packed Reader Feedback issue. We’ll see you there!
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Until next time, stay Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff