Mesoblast has developed a cellular therapy that may significantly reduce deaths among the most severely sick COVID-19 patients. CEO Dr. Fred Grossman joins Yahoo Finance’s On the Move to discuss what this development could mean in the fight against the virus.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2Ofx2f0

Xeris Pharmaceuticals (XERS) spiked 12% in Friday’s after-hours trading after a filing disclosed that Soros Fund Management, LLC holds a 5.3% stake in the company with ~2.5M common shares.Soros Fund Management was founded in 1969 by 89-year old hedge fund tycoon and billionaire George Soros.Xeris’s lead product, Gvoke, is a ready-to-use glucagon product for diabetic patients experiencing severe hypoglycemia, which has been approved as a prefilled syringe (PFS) and autoinjector (HypoPen).The HypoPen was launched on July 1, making it the first ready-to-use glucagon in a premixed autoinjector, with no visible needle.“We are excited to announce that Gvoke HypoPen is now available. The simplicity and reliability of Gvoke HypoPen has the potential to change people’s ability to confidently respond to a severe hypoglycemic event in a timely manner,” commented CEO Paul R. Edick on the launch.RBC Capital’s Randall Stanicky has a buy rating on Xeris and $15 price target, writing that Gvoke addresses an important unmet need in a large patient population where current standards of care have significant limitations that have impeded uptake.Plus he cites the company’s broad pipeline that targets several diseases with limited or no viable treatment options. The pipeline leverages Xeris’ two formulation technology platforms to create non-aqueous formulations of existing drugs.“Formulation technology platforms can be otherwise leveraged across several therapeutic areas and Xeris is currently working with other companies to assess the feasibility of applying its platform to other products” the analyst adds.Overall, the stock has a Strong Buy Street consensus, with 4 recent buy ratings. Meanwhile the average analyst price target stands at $12.50 (373% upside potential). (See XERS stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Novavax Spikes 42% Pre-Market On $1.6B U.S. Funding For Covid-19 Candidate Gilead Reveals Covid-19 Treatment Remdesivir Reduces Mortality Risk Moderna Inks Deal With Rovi To Supply Potential Covid-19 Vaccine Outside US More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Australia Provisionally Approves Gilead’s Covid-19 Treatment * Gilead Reveals Covid-19 Treatment Remdesivir Reduces Mortality Risk * Square Snaps Up Stitch Labs, As Analyst Finally Upgrades Stock * Alibaba’s CEO Sets Out Ambitious Goals; Sees 2B Customers By 2036

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2C2sypF

Ford says staffing restrictions at an engine plant in Mexico are ‘not sustainable’, and the U.S. ambassador to Mexico says the company may have to start shutting down U-S plants if they can’t get enough engines. Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi, Alexis Christoforous, and Rick Newman discuss.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2CuvJqc

With the Federal Reserve backstopping financial assets, it is no surprise that stocks have rallied furiously off the March 23rd bottom.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3iWoGqM

Stocks churned higher for most of Friday's session, setting the stage for the start of earnings season next week. With that in mind, let's look at a few top stock trades for Monday. Top Stock Trades for Monday No. 1: Fastly (FSLY) Click to EnlargeSource: Chart courtesy of StockCharts.comFastly (NYSE:FSLY) stock has been absolutely incredible, rallying from $10.63 at the March low to more than $100 this week. On the way up, we outlined a couple of key levels, including $75 and $84. These are the 261.8% and the three-times range extensions from the prior range. I also flagged the 361.8% level and the $100 mark as a potential upside target. InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAfter briefly exceeding these marks, however, shares seem to be cooling off a bit.Now we need to see where support comes into play. Start with the 10-day moving average near $88. Below that puts the 20-day moving average in play, followed by the extensions we highlighted in the chart at $84 and $75. * The 7 Best Stocks to Invest in Right Now Above $100, though, and the $102.95 high is in play. Top Stock Trades for Monday No. 2: Boeing (BA) Click to EnlargeSource: Chart courtesy of StockCharts.comBoeing (NYSE:BA) made a nice reversal higher on Friday, as it continues to hold the $168 to $170 area as support. The problem is, however, that downtrend resistance (blue line) and the 20-day moving average continue to squeeze the stock lower. This has the look of a descending triangle, a bearish technical signal. That said, watch $168. Below this mark puts the 50-day moving average in play. If that fails, it could put $150 in play, which is the 23.6% retracement. For bulls to gain any sort of meaningful momentum, the stock must close over the 20-day moving average currently near $184. Top Stock Trades for Monday No. 3: JPMorgan (JPM) Click to EnlargeSource: Chart courtesy of StockCharts.comJPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and other bank stocks are making a powerful move higher on Friday and ahead earnings next week. The company will report on Tuesday, along with Citigroup (NYSE:C). The 23.6% retracement held as solid support for the last few weeks. So with JPMorgan's rally, the stock is reclaiming the 20-day and 50-day moving averages, as well as clearing downtrend resistance. Now bulls need to see if shares can clear the 38.2% retracement and reclaim $100. Above that puts $110 to $112 in play, along with the 200-day moving average. * 7 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week Below uptrend support, though, and JPMorgan could see more downside. Top Stock Trades for Monday No. 4: Citigroup (C) Click to EnlargeSource: Chart courtesy of StockCharts.comLike JPMorgan, Citigroup is prepping for earnings. The stock did a great job holding $50 support and is bouncing off the 50-day moving average. It's also reclaiming downtrend resistance and the 20-day moving average. From here, I want to see shares clear the 50% retracement at $56.68, putting $60 to $62 in play. There it will find the 61.8% retracement and 200-day moving average. Below this month's low at $49.03, however, and Citigroup could take a tumble. In that event, it put the 23.6% retracement in play at $43.47.Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post 4 Top Stock Trades for Monday: FSLY, BA, JPM, C appeared first on InvestorPlace.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2BUppbD

Chris Kerr, Gathered Foods CEO & Co-Founder, joins The Final Round to discuss release of their new line frozen plant-based seafood and trends emerging in the plant-based protein market.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2DApIZx

Gilead Sciences (GILD) has announced encouraging additional data on remdesivir, the company’s investigational antiviral for the treatment of COVID-19.The data includes a comparative analysis of the Phase 3 SIMPLE-Severe trial and a real-world retrospective cohort of patients with severe COVID-19.“In this analysis, remdesivir was associated with an improvement in clinical recovery and a 62% reduction in the risk of mortality compared with standard of care – an important finding that requires confirmation in prospective clinical trials” the company stated.Separate subgroup analyses from the Phase 3 SIMPLE-Severe trial, including an evaluation of the safety and efficacy of remdesivir across different racial and ethnic patient subgroups in the US, found that traditionally marginalized racial or ethnic groups treated with remdesivir experienced similar clinical outcomes as the overall patient population in the study.Gilead also showed additional data on the company’s compassionate use program, which demonstrated that 83% of pediatric patients (n=77) and 92% of pregnant and postpartum women (n=86) with a broad spectrum of disease severity recovered by Day 28. No new safety signals were identified with remdesivir across these populations.To further the understanding of these results in individual patient cases, Gilead has initiated a global, open-label Phase 2/3 trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of remdesivir in pediatric patients from birth to less than 18 years of age. Gilead is also collaborating on a study for pregnant women.“We are working to broaden our understanding of the full utility of remdesivir. To address the urgency of the continuing pandemic, we are sharing data with the research community as quickly as possible with the goal of providing transparent and timely updates on new developments with remdesivir,” said Merdad Parsey, CMO of Gilead.“These data presented at the Virtual COVID-19 Conference shed additional light on the use of remdesivir in specific patient populations, including those that may be susceptible to higher rates of COVID-19 infection, as well as others that are particularly vulnerable, including children and pregnant and postpartum women” he added.Due to the current public health emergency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19.Five-star analyst Jim Birchenough at Wells Fargo recently reiterated a Hold rating on Gilead saying that he remains skeptical on the longer-term commercial opportunity in view of emerging competition and potential vaccine progress. Indeed, the Street is cautiously optimistic on the stock with a Moderate Buy  consensus based on 10 Buy ratings, 12 Holds and 3 Sells.Shares in Gilead rose 2% to $76.32 at the close of trading on July 10 taking the year-to-date advance to about 18%. The $80 average price target implies 5% upside potential in the shares in the coming 12 months. (See Gilead stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Novavax Spikes 42% Pre-Market On $1.6B U.S. Funding For Covid-19 Candidate Gilead’s Covid-19 Remdesivir Therapy Gets Conditional European Nod Moderna Inks Deal With Rovi To Supply Potential Covid-19 Vaccine Outside US More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Square Snaps Up Stitch Labs, As Analyst Finally Upgrades Stock * Alibaba’s CEO Sets Out Ambitious Goals; Sees 2B Customers By 2036 * Has Apple Surged Too Far, Too Fast? Analyst Weighs In * Aurora Cannabis (ACB): Transformation on Track

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/38OauLM

Mobile payment processor Square (SQ) has acquired Stitch Labs, an operations management platform for growing commerce brands. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Stitch Labs has a strong background in building key tools for businesses such as inventory and order management, channel management, and fulfillment solutions, says Square.“The team will join our Seller organization, where we’re eager to learn from their experience and expertise to help us better serve sellers” the statement revealed.While Stitch Labs won’t take on any new customers, Stitch Lab’s products will continue to operate for existing customers until Spring 2021.“Longer term, we plan to sunset Stitch Labs’s products so the team can focus on building out Square tools, and we’ll work with existing customers to ensure that they have the resources and options they need to be successful transitioning off the platform” the company stated.Shares in Square have now doubled year-to-date, leaving the stock with a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus. Meanwhile the average analyst price target of $95 now indicates 26% downside potential from current levels. (See SQ stock analysis on TipRanks).However, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Kenneth Hill has now upgraded SQ from Hold to Buy, writing “SQ has been one of the most divisive names in our coverage over the first half of 2020, and we’ve been content, until now, to sit on the sidelines as expectations vacillated.”So why the enthusiasm now, at these levels? According to the analyst, there is more to the long-term story than he initially anticipated. “We were forced to re-evaluate the opportunity set and our valuation methodology, leading us to a Buy recommendation as we see Cash App revenue (ex. bitcoin) increasing by more than 3x over the next 5 years” the analyst explained.While shareholders may still experience some bumps, he believes that as Square develops, rolls out, and monetizes a slew of services across the payments and financials ecosystems, it will lay the groundwork to make the company a need-to-own name for years to come. Hill has a $121 price target on Square.Related News: Amazon Delays Prime Day- This Time Until October Has Apple Surged Too Far, Too Fast? Analyst Weighs In Alibaba’s CEO Sets Out Ambitious Goals; Sees 2B Customers By 2036 More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Alibaba’s CEO Sets Out Ambitious Goals; Sees 2B Customers By 2036 * Amazon Is Said To Offer $100M In Stock Awards To Keep Zoox Talent * Walgreens Reports $1.7B Quarterly Loss, Cuts 4,000 Jobs Due To Covid-19 Impact * Moderna Inks Deal With Rovi To Supply Potential Covid-19 Vaccine Outside U.S.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/328cQ6Z

Chris Retzler, Needham Small Cap Growth Fund Portfolio Manager joins the On the Move panel to discuss the latest in the markets.



from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3fms7ou

As the first publicly traded space tourism company, Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE), gets considerable investor attention. So far in 2020, SPCE stock is up 45%.Source: Tun Pichitanon / Shutterstock.com Amid the headlines of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, volatility has recently returned to broader markets. And for some market participants, space exploration and tourism probably feel like a pipe dream given our daily lives are still rather restricted. But NASA announced in late May that "NASA astronauts, for the first time ever, launched from U.S. soil in a commercially built and operated U.S. crew spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station."The spacecraft in question belonged to SpaceX, another space-exploration company privately owned by Mr. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Despite the justified excitement this launch caused, "space" as an investment theme is still in its infancy. Let's take a closer look at Virgin Galactic to see if SPCE stock should belong in a longer-term portfolio.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips How Virgin Galactic Went PublicVirgin Galactic is part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. He had previously founded Virgin Atlantic Airways which itself is owned in part by Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL). Virgin Galactic defines itself as "the world's first commercial spaceline and vertically integrated aerospace company." * The 7 Best Stocks to Invest in Right Now The company went public on Oct. 28, 2019, via a reverse merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). InvestorPlace readers may remember that DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) and Nikola Motor Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) have also gone public through such a transaction. SPACs have become an alternative method of going public instead of the traditional IPO route.In a recently submitted dissertation research at the Department of Finance, Texas Christian University, James Griffin highlights:"a SPAC is a form of capital-raising in which an entity raises public funds for the sole purpose of acquiring a private company… SPACs are not operating companies… The SPAC raises money through a traditional initial public offering, conducts a target company selection process, proposes an acquisition to its shareholder base, then acquires the company if its shareholders approve of the choice. Most SPACs begin trading at a price in the ballpark of $8-10 per share."Virgin Galactic's SPAC partner was Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH) founded by venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya a as a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). SCH was first listed in September 2017 with an opening share price of $10.Following various SEC registrations as part of the reverse merger, SPCE stock started trading on Oct. 28, 2019, at an opening price of $12.34. On Feb. 20, they hit an all-time high $42.49. On March 18, they saw a recent low of $9.06. Now, shares change hands around $16. SPCE Stock Price Is Likely to Stay Range-BoundDespite its initial run-up in price in 2020 to go over $40, over the past several weeks, SPCE stock has been hovering around its opening price.In a recent article published in SeekingAlpha, Edward Vranic, CFA, suggested that the rapid declines folowing all-time highs are due to the mechanics of going public via SPACs. In most cases, only a small portion, i.e. typically less than 10%, of shares are held by the public. The rest are held by other private individuals or entities, including "Private Investment in Public Equity" (PIPE) investors. In most cases, such PIPE investors own each share at around a price of $10.Depending on the initial IPO terms, those shares held by PIPE investors usually need to be registered within a certain number of months. Then, there are likely to be warrants that get redeemed as a new stock like SPCE becomes hot, goes over a certain price level.Therefore, as SPCE stock was aiming for the skies earlier in the year, a wide range of investors would have likely started cashing in on their investment. A March 13 press release by the company clearly announces such a redemption of public warrants. Coupled with the market crash in March, it would not be difficult to see why the shares would now be around hovering around their initial trading price.For SPCE stock to make a sustained rally form these levels, its next earnings call on August 3 will be very important. The Street would like to see focus on future bookings and space flight details. If management can deliver, then investors may become excited once again. Otherwise, they are likely to keep the share in a range, possibly between $12.50 and $17.50. The Bottom Line on SPCE StockWithin this new decade, space tourism could become a market of $3 billion. And by default, the prospects for SPCE stock could be risky, yet exciting and rewarding.However, Virgin Galactic is a new venture with little revenue. Yet investors with a long-term horizon whose portfolios can also weather further volatility may consider buying into the shares of this exciting venture.Are you currently an investor in SPCE stock? Then you may also consider initiating an ATM covered call position. For example, an August 21 expiry-covered call would decrease the volatility in your portfolio and offer some downside protection.Tezcan Gecgil has worked in investment management for over two decades in the U.S. and U.K. In addition to formal higher education in the field, including a Ph.D. degree, she has also completed all 3 levels of the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) examination. Her passion is for options trading based on technical analysis of fundamentally strong companies. She especially enjoys setting up weekly covered calls for income generation. As of this writing, Tezcan did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Virgin Galactic Stock Is Likely To Be Range-Bound Under $20 appeared first on InvestorPlace.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2Wd1Hht