Dave Portnoy spurred a new generation of retail traders, but the Barstool Sports founder said Monday on CNBC's "Fast Money" he can't be responsible for the actions of others.'Barstooling It': The rise in retail trading activity is in part due to Portnoy branding himself as "Davey Day Trader." His newfound popularity in the trading universe is merely a function of "doing something the financial community hasn't seen before and making it fun," Portnoy said."We are 'Barstooling' it, we are making hype videos, we are getting behind it, we are live-streaming it," he said. "And I think a lot of the old-time guys just don't know what the hell is going on with us so they don't know what to make of us."See Also: Are Robinhood Retail Traders Fueling The Rally? It Depends Who You Ask'Clear What We Are': Portnoy makes it "clear what we are" and admits he has no "great knowledge" of stocks. If retail investors follow his actions and potentially lose money on a rare penny stock mention, he "can't be held responsible for total idiots."Portnoy has made some profitable trades among well-known brands, including personally buying and recommending Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NYSE: SAVE) near $8 per share. Anyone who took his advice is sitting on a hefty profit with the stock trading north of $20. The stock needs to "crash significantly for about a week straight" to erase all of the gains."People have to make decisions for themselves, obviously," he said. "If you want to jump on, you jump on. The facts are I'm not going to feel bad when I have like 400% returns since I started doing this."See Also: Dave Portnoy Trades And Entertains, But Whitney Tilson Says He's Reminiscent Of The 'Proverbial Shoeshine Boy'The Buffett Call: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has been buying and selling stocks for decades, but Portnoy has no ambition to follow suit. He said once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, he needs to return to his "pretty busy job" at Barstool Sports.In the meantime, Portnoy said it's factually correct to say he 's outperforming Buffett after loading up on airliner stocks near the bottom: "because I am."Buffett is also pushing 90 years old so even claiming he is past his prime shouldn't be seen as an insult, Portnoy said."I have said all along, he is the greatest investor of all time," he said. "But right now, in this market, I'm doing better."Top Stock Pick: Davey Day Trader's top pick in this current environment: Smith & Wesson Brands Inc (NASDAQ: SWBI). Photo screenshot via CNBC.See more from Benzinga * Ex-SEC Chief Pitt Surprised At Investor Gullibility, Says They're Buying 'Garbage' * McDonald's Serves Up April, May Metrics, COVID-19 Update * What Data From Yelp And OpenTable Tells Us About The State Of Restaurants(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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VMware on the list Continue reading…

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Coronavirus vaccine maker Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) is closing in on the final stages of its vaccine program and could have the efficacy data by Thanksgiving, paving the way for a potential Emergency Use Authorization approval by the FDA, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with the company's CEO Stephane Bancel.What Happened: Moderna's coronavirus vaccine, codenamed mRNA-1273, is in Phase 2 testing and could yield efficacy data as early as Thanksgiving if everything goes right, Bancel told Bloomberg. The CEO also discussed about the possibility of the FDA according EUA at high risk."They might decide to give us emergency use approval for people at very high risk, while the agency more carefully reviews the data before granting approval for a broader population, " Bancel said.Moderna is measuring whether the vaccine prevents COVID-19 or potentially prevents infection, she said. Benzinga is covering every angle of how the coronavirus affects the financial world. For daily updates, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter.Working On Pricing: Moderna's CEO also suggested in the interview the company is working on how best to price a coronavirus vaccine to make it both affordable and viable for the company. "What we need to make sure is that the vaccine is affordable. But vaccines won't be free," Bancel said. Moderna is scheduled to start a Phase 3 trial evaluating about 30,000 volunteers, in Jul while the NIAID-sponsored Phase 1 trial and the company-managed Phase 2 trial are ongoing.Preliminary results from the Phase 1 study released in mid-May demonstrated positive immunogenicity and safety.MRNA Price Action: The stock was down 5.27% at $63.06 at the time of publication. Related Links:Moderna Analyst Says Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate Has 65% Chance Of Success Coronavirus Vaccine Frontrunner Moderna Appoints Former Amgen Executive As CFO See more from Benzinga * Moderna Closing In On Deal To Supply Coronavirus Vaccine To Israel: Report * Sinovac Makes Headway In Coronavirus Vaccine Race With Positive Preliminary Phase 1/2 Results * Moderna On Track To Start Phase 3 Coronavirus Vaccine Trial In July(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: INO) shareholders are suing the company in U.S. District Court alleging the vaccine maker misled investors by saying it came up with a coronavirus vaccine candidate in about three hours.When Inovio shared a developmental timeline for its DNA vaccine, codenamed INO-4700, in early March, the company said it designed the vaccine in three hours after the receiving the genetic sequence.That statement amounts to a deliberate misrepresentation to the public to inflate Inovio's stock price, the shareholders said in the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Inovio Shareholders Allege Stock Pumping: Ever since CEO J. Joseph Kim flaunted the "three-hour achievement" in a televised mid-February interview, the company has continued to release updates on the vaccine program in a bid to keep the stock on an upward trajectory, acccording to the lawsuit. The investors reiterated in the lawsuit that Inovio had not designed a viable coronavirus vaccine in three hours, but rather arrived at a vaccine construct.When short sellers targeted Inovio over the three-hour statement, the company said on Twitter that it had designed only a vaccine construct.The lawsuit shows a lack of understanding of the science behind DNA medicines, an Inovio spokesperson told Benzinga on Tuesday. The company designed a vaccine construct for INO-4800 within three hours after the viral sequence became publicly available; produced the vaccine at a small scale and entered preclinical trials in January; entered human trials in April; and plans to report results later in June, the spokesperson said. "Based on extensive prior work creating DNA vaccines using our proprietary DNA medicines platform, we are confident that we have a viable approach to address the COVID-19 outbreak." Inovio's COVID-19 Journey: Inovio's shares rallied through February and hit a high of $19.36 March 19, only to retreat to $5.13 in the wake of short seller reports.The company is already facing another proposed class action lawsuit filed March 12. Inovio has also accused a manufacturing partner in a lawsuit of refusing to divulge information required to scale up manufacturing, according to Fierce Pharma. According to the latest update provided by Inovio on its INO-4700 vaccine candidate in early June, the company said it plans to start a two-stage Phase 1/2 trial in South Korea.INO Price Action: At last check, Inovio shares were slipping 1.92% to $13.88. Related Links:Inovio Analysts Tackle Coronavirus Vaccine Timeline, Funding, Pipeline After Q1 Report Moderna Analyst Says Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate Has 65% Chance Of Success See more from Benzinga * Revisiting The Coronavirus Vaccine Race: Updates On The 10 Candidates In Clinics * Inovio Analyst Watches Coronavirus Play 'From The Sidelines' * The Daily Biotech Pulse: ASCO Presentations Begin, Altimmune Pops On Insider Buying, Immutep Gets R&D Grant(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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To no one’s surprise, the cruise line industry has been pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic. From the viral outbreak on the liner Diamond Princess, to ongoing headlines along the lines of ’40,000 Cruise Ship Workers Trapped at Sea,’ to the heavy share price declines among the industry stocks, the news has been unrelentingly bad.But nothing lasts forever, not even bad news, and what goes down must eventually come back up. Even cruise line stocks. The industry is down about 60% year-to-date, drastically underperforming the travel segment generally, but in recent weeks cruise line shares have surged 75%. At the macro level, JPMorgan analyst Brandt Montour makes a case for both near-term risk and longer-term recovering among the cruise lines. The risks are obvious: the potential for coronavirus outbreaks on the ships, mitigated by the companies reopening at partial capacity. On the positive side, Montour credits “…the pent-up demand for vacationing seen broadly, the surprisingly high risk-tolerance of the average American, recapitalizations across the cruise space…, the relative resiliency of demand from repeat-cruisers, and of course the broader macro recovery.”Getting into specifics, Montour has picked out two stocks that are worth the risk, and one that investors should avoid for now. Using TipRanks’ Stock Comparison tool, we lined up the three alongside each other to get the lowdown on what the near-term holds for these cruise line players.Royal Caribbean (RCL)We’ll start with Royal Caribbean, whose management Montour describes as “best in class.” The upshot is, that RCL shares are still available at a discount – and the company has several reasons for optimism going forward.As Montour points out, RCL has a reputation for excellent physical infrastructure and operations – the company’s cruise ships and crews are generally considered industry leaders. With China opening up and loosening restrictions, RCL’s ticket prices have been holding up somewhat better than at peer companies. This is an important point; as the cruise lines are looking at reopening with limited capacity, maintaining ticket prices will be essential to maintaining margins. All of this is not to say that the company is not feeling the pressure. Last month, RCL extended its suspension of sailings to the end of July, and the Q2 earnings forecast predicts a net loss of $4.43 per share – nearly triple the net loss reported in Q1. But these are likely balanced by the company’s strong liquidity position – it recently renegotiated more than $2.2 billion in debt – and its prospects for Q3 resumption of business in China.Montour touches on the points in his comments on the stock: “Its relative liquidity position is no longer a concern, while its relative share outperformance and valuation is worth the step up in quality, in our view.”Overall, Montour sees RCL as a stock worth the risks. He rates it a Buy, expecting the shares to outperform peers in the near future. His $72 price target implies an upside potential of 18% for the coming 12 months. (To watch Montour’s track record, click here)The Wall Street view of RCL is still cautious. The stock’s recent rebound, despite underperforming the broader markets, has still pushed the share price well above the average price target – but even so, 9 out of 15 analysts rate the stock a Buy. With 4 Holds and 2 Sells, this makes the analyst consensus view a Moderate Buy. RCL shares are selling for $62.66; if it continues to appreciate, expect the analysts to adjust their targets upward. (See RCL stock analysis on TipRanks)Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH)Next up is Norwegian Cruise Line, the third largest player in the cruise line industry, with a market cap exceeding $5 billion. Norwegian’s greatest advantage right now is the size and capacity of its cruise fleet. With a smaller fleet of relatively newer ships, and no new vessels scheduled to launch for the next two years, Montour sees the company as well-positioned to weather the coronavirus storm.Montour also takes care to point out Norwegian’s relative discount – and high potential upside. In fact, even though he rates RCL as his best pick, he still sees NCLH as having the greater return potential. Like RCL, Norwegian has suspended sailings through the end of July. While this will badly impact the bottom line, the company has also improved its liquidity position. Subsidiary company NCL announced last month the closing of two investments tranches, one for $400 million and one for $675 million.Norwegian’s sound cash position and relative share price discount are the main attractors for Montour. He supports his Buy rating for the stock with a $24 price target that implies a healthy 20% one-year upside potential. “We like NCLH's positioning with its relatively small, relatively newer fleet, with no new capacity coming on for the next ~2 years… NCLH’s relative discount and YTD share underperformance yield the most upside to our PT,” Montour concluded.Again, Wall Street is more cautious here than JPM’s industry expert. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating is based on 15 reviews, including 8 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average price target is only $16.67, while shares are selling for $19.99. (See NCLH stock analysis on TipRanks)Carnival Corporation (CCL)Last on the list is Carnival, the stock that Montour recommends avoiding – at least for now. It may strike you as unusual that the world’s largest cruise company (even after the coronavirus hit, Carnival boasts a $15.2 billion market cap.But the company also has a heavy debt load. At the end of March, Carnival announced that it was making available $3 billion in senior secured notes to be due in 2023. In addition, the company also revealed plans to raise $1.75 billion through a sale of senior convertible notes, also due in 2023. In its simultaneous third debt announcement, Carnival also unveiled a public offering of $1.25 billion worth of common stock shares.Along with the debt load, Carnival also suspended its 50-cent per share quarterly dividend, as a move to preserve liquidity. This is a serious blow to the stock, as the dividend, at current prices, would yield over 10%.Montour comments on Carnival, saying, “CCL's growth metrics were sluggish heading into the crisis, as older capacity and regional footprints were more impacted… During COVID-19, CCL likely sustained the most direct brand damage…” The analyst also points out that Carnival lacks any ‘unique growth drivers,’ and that the company’s size makes it less nimble in dealing with the current crisis conditions.With that in mind, Montour hedges on Carnival, giving the stock a Hold rating. His $20 price target suggests a modest 2% downside. (To watch Montour’s track record, click here)JPM’s expert analysis is in line with the Wall Street aggregate view on Carnival. The Hold analyst consensus rating is based 15 reviews, including just 3 Buys, along with 8 Holds and 4 Sells. Shares are selling for $19.44, and the average price of $16.13 implies over 20% downside. (See Carnival stock-price forecast on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

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Are you missing out on any of Costco’s numerous perks? Find out if you’re making shopping mistakes that are costing you money.

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Fed chief Jerome Powell continues to strike a downbeat tone on the jobs recovery after COVID-19. Investors hate hearing it.

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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. Insider Monkey finished processing 821 13F filings submitted by hedge funds and prominent investors. These filings show these funds' portfolio positions as of March 31st, 2020. […]

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Broyhill Asset Management, a boutique investment firm based in North Carolina, released its Q1 2020 Investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. Established as a family office, the company invests with a long-term, objective, and rational perspective. You should check out Broyhill Asset Management's top 5 stock picks for investors to […]

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