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Did Hedge Funds Make The Right Call On Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) ?
The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F […]
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Why Spotify Technology (SPOT) Stock is a Compelling Investment Case
Rowan Street Capital recently released its Q2 2020 Investor Letter, a copy of which you can download here. The Fund posted a return of 43.2% for the quarter (gross), outperforming its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index which returned 20.5% in the same quarter. You should check out Rowan Street Capital’s top 5 stock picks for […]
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Chevron To Buy Noble Energy For $5 Billion In All-Stock Deal
U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. (CVX) has entered into a definitive agreement to buy all of the outstanding shares of Noble Energy, Inc. (NBL) in an all-stock deal valued at $5 billion.Under the terms of the agreement, Noble Energy shareholders will receive 0.1191 shares of Chevron for each Noble Energy share. The transaction price of $10.38 per share represents a premium of about 7.5% to Noble’s Friday close. Upon deal closure, Noble shareholders will own about 3% of the combined company. The total enterprise value, including debt, of the transaction amounts to $13 billion.Noble shares rose 6% to $10.22 in morning U.S. trading, while Chevron dropped 1.7% to $85.77.Chevron said the acquisition provides the company with low-cost, proved reserves and attractive undeveloped resources that will boost an already advantaged upstream portfolio. Noble has low-capital, cash-generating offshore assets in Israel, with which Chevron hopes to strengthen its position in the Eastern Mediterranean.Noble’s assets would also expand Chevron’s shale position in the DJ Basin of Colorado and the 92,000 largely contiguous and adjacent acres in the Permian Basin across West Texas and New Mexico.“Our strong balance sheet and financial discipline gives us the flexibility to be a buyer of quality assets during these challenging times,” said Chevron CEO Michael Wirth. “This is a cost-effective opportunity for Chevron to acquire additional proved reserves and resources. Noble’s multi-asset, high-quality portfolio will improve our ability to generate strong cash flow.”Wirth said that the deal is expected to unlock value for shareholders, generating $300 million in annual run-rate cost synergies, while also adding to free cash flow, and earnings per share returns one year after closing.Raymond James analyst John Freeman today raised Chevron’s price target to $100 (16% upside potential) from $95, while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock.With shares down 28% so far this year, Wall Street analysts are cautiously optimistic on the stock’s outlook. The Moderate Buy consensus breaks down into 10 Buy ratings versus 4 Hold ratings and 1 Sell rating. The $103.46 average analyst price target indicates 20% upside potential from current levels over the next 12 months. (See Chevron stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: BP Invests $1B In Fuels Joint Venture With Reliance In India Sunrun To Buy Vivint Solar For About $1.46B In All-Stock Deal Billionaire Buffett’s Energy Unit To Buy Dominion Energy Assets For $4B More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Philips Reports Q2 Earnings Beat, Sending Shares Higher * Disney Delays Launch Of Its Marvel TV Series Citing Covid-19 Pandemic * Ford, Mobileye Join Forces To Boost Camera-Detection Systems * BeiGene, Assembly Bio Ink $540M China HBV Deal; Shares Surge In Pre-Market
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Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Study Shows Dual Immune Action
(Bloomberg) — A coronavirus vaccine the University of Oxford is developing with AstraZeneca Plc showed promising results in early human testing, a sign of progress in the high-stakes pursuit of a shot to defeat the pathogen.The vaccine increased levels of both protective neutralizing antibodies and immune T-cells that target the virus, according to the study organizers. The results were published Monday in The Lancet medical journal.AstraZeneca shares rose as much as 10% in London but gave up much of gain to trade 0.6% higher as researchers cautioned that the results were preliminary. A positive outcome had been widely expected after reports last week lifted the stock, with the vaccine already in more advanced trials.“We are seeing very good immune responses, not just on neutralizing antibodies but of T-cells as well,” said Adrian Hill, head of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, in an interview. “We’re stimulating both arms of the immune system.”The results will be closely scrutinized as governments around the world seek to end a pandemic that’s killed more than 600,000 people and triggered economic turmoil since erupting earlier this year. Moderna Inc., another front-runner, released results last week from an early-stage test that showed its vaccine raised levels of antibodies that fight the virus.Key StepAlthough stimulating production of neutralizing antibodies doesn’t prove a vaccine will be effective, it’s considered an important early step in testing. Results from testing in animals had already shown the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot provoked an immune response.Across the world, about 160 coronavirus vaccines are in various stages of development, according to the World Health Organization. The Oxford shot is close to the front of the pack and has already begun final-stage tests. AstraZeneca has said it may begin delivering doses to the U.K. as early as September.“We want other companies to have vaccines that work as well because the world will get more vaccine sooner,” Hill said. “We just feel there is an advantage of having both arms of the immune system stimulated well.”The British drugmaker received a boost when the U.S. pledged as much as $1.2 billion toward development. Under its agreement with Astra, the U.S. could begin receiving supplies as early as October.The U.K. has also struck a supply agreement for the shot, but on Monday it secured access to other drugmakers’ experimental vaccines to hedge its bets and garner enough doses to cover its population of 66 million. The government secured deals with Pfizer Inc., BioNTech SE and Valneva SE.Covid FightCompanies and universities are relying on an array of approaches in the fight against Covid-19. The Oxford team has developed a technology that can speed up the process by using a harmless virus to carry some of the pathogen’s genetic material into cells to generate an immune response. The proposed vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus that’s genetically changed to make it unable to grow in humans.Oxford has inserted genetic material from the surface spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a way of tricking the immune system into fighting back. The platform stimulates both antibodies and high levels of killer T-cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system destroy infection.“We’re very encouraged,” Hill said. While the test doesn’t prove the vaccine will work, “I think we’re a bit more confident it should work this week than last week.”Moderna’s initial results were from the first group of 45 patients who received the vaccine Moderna’s shares surged in U.S. trading after the results, despite a high rate of side effects among the patients who got the shot.The Oxford shot elicited neutralizing antibodies after a single dose, Hill said. That may be an important advantage in quickly raising immunity.“I don’t read that clearly in the Moderna data,” he said. “I think they need two doses to see plausibly protective neutralizing antibodies.“A large trial is set to begin this month that will test Moderna’s vaccine in a two-shot regimen. Astra will also prioritize a two-shot regimen, Hill said.“It gives higher titres of antibodies, which is important going forward,” he said.(Updates with share movement in third paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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