🧬 Bullish on Biotech

Plus, how many Americans were exposed to the UnitedHealth hack.

Happy Thursday afternoon to everyone on The Street. Here's a snapshot of where markets ended the trading session, plus tomorrow's trade idea delivered to you today.

  • 🟩 | US Stocks Rose on Thursday. The market seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after yesterday’s Fed meeting, which was less hawkish than it could have been.

  • 📈 | One Notable Gainer: Wireless-chip leader Qualcomm saw its stock surge 10% after beating expectations for its fiscal second quarter, with earnings per share that exceeded the high end of its guidance.

  • 📉 | One Notable Decliner: Shares of Peleton dropped 2%, recovering from a 14% loss earlier in today’s trading session that brought the stock to an all-time low. This comes as the company announced that CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down amid plans to lay off 15% of staff and refinance debt.

  • 🧬 | Tomorrow's Trade: Bullish on Biotech. Scroll down for more.

Plus, our partner is the all-in-one platform that allows you to capitalize on bourbon as an asset class in just minutes.

YESTERDAY’S POLL RESULTS

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Halliburton (HAL)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ EQT Corporation (EQT)

S&P 500 Heatmap. Credit: Finviz

All stocks on US exchanges. Credit: Finviz

Global ADR snapshot. Credit: Finviz

MARKET MOVERS

APPL (+2%) Apple’s stock rose ahead of its second-quarter results due after the closing bell. Investors are watching for an overall trend in Chinese sales (CNBC)

W (+16%) Home furniture retailer Wayfair saw its shares jump after beating Wall Street expectations for Q1 profitability and revenue (Investing.com)

CVNA (+34%) Online used car retailer Carvana saw its stock price soar after reporting the “best financial results in company history” (FC)

MRNA (+13%) Moderna’s first-quarter sales of its COVID-19 vaccine plunged to $167 million from $1.8 billion last year, which was better than expected (WSJ)

ETSY (+15%) Etsy’s stock hit a four-year low after reporting a sales decrease and warned of a “challenging environment” for consumer spending (Investopedia)

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OVERHEARD ON THE STREET

CNBC: Exxon is positioned to close its $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer, which Exxon claims would more than double its production in the Permian Basin.

The Hill: In related news… The FTC accused ex-Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield of colluding with OPEC and blocked him from taking an Exxon board seat.

AP: Microsoft is investing $2.2 billion in Malaysia’s new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure and helping to establish a national AI center.

Bloomberg: Antitrust court documents show that Google paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 to make Google the default search engine in the Safari browser.

The Guardian: A federal judge ruled that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy broke US law when making anti-union comments during a two-year-old interview.

TOMORROW’S TRADE IDEA, TODAY

genetics GIF by MIT

Poised for Growth

At the start of the year, Fed rate cuts were expected early and often. That hasn’t materialized, and now it’s likely cuts won’t happen until at least September. 

While this is bad news for most of the market, biotech stocks might benefit. According to Morgan Stanley (MS), biotech stocks tend to rally during the lead-up to an initial rate cut before falling after the change. 

Now, Citi (C) believes it has identified one particular area of biotech that it believes is poised for growth.

Hereditary Angioedema

Hereditary angioedema is a potentially deadly genetic condition that results in swelling throughout various body parts. Citi anticipates growth ahead for the treatment of this condition.

The investment bank believes the market surrounding this condition could grow 4-6% over the next five years as new treatments are developed. 

The firm has pinpointed three companies it believes could be winners in the space: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), CSL (CSL.AX), and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA).

Product Driven Success

According to Citi analysts, CSL’s angioedema treatment Garadacimab features “best-in-class efficacy” and could become the industry-wide standard. It’s set for release in 2025. Citi analysts are bullish on its ability to create a return on capital and stabilize the plasma industry. They have given the stock a $305 price target, an 11% upside from Wednesday’s close. 

The bank is also optimistic about Ionis Pharmeceutical’s Donidalorsen drug. Citi thinks it could prove more convenient for consumers because it requires fewer doses. The bank gave the stock a buy rating with around a 40% upside from Wednesday’s close, citing positive risk versus reward prospects. 

As for Intellia, Citi believes its gene-editing system “CRISPR/Cas9” could serve as a treatment for a myriad of diseases. The firm gives the stock around a 38% upside from Wednesday’s close. 

The stock market is sputtering as investor confidence dwindles from disappointing rate cut news, but biotech could be a silver lining if history is any indicator.

Which company do you think will outperform over the next 12 months?

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TOGETHER WITH VINOVEST

Vinovest sold its bourbon casks for $1,850 each resulting in a 23.3% return for clients over 1 year. This is Vinovest’s third whiskey exit. (Quite a track record.) And with Barron’s projecting that whiskey investing is “a global phenomenon that shows no signs of slowing down,” now could be a perfect time to add casks of whiskey to your portfolio.

Vinovest is the all-in-one platform that allows you to capitalize on this lucrative asset class in just minutes. Schedule a call with a whiskey advisor today.

ON OUR RADAR

BI: Forget New York and San Francisco. Due to housing costs, America’s major job hubs are now cities like Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Axios: Boston is in the vanguard of cities trying to coax developers to convert office buildings to apartments, offering deep tax discounts as an incentive.

Reuters: Yesterday, UnitedHealth told Congress that hackers who breached its tech unit in February potentially stole a third of Americans' data.

BI: Tesla has been revoking summer internships less than a month before the new interns were set to start as the company makes further cuts.

Bloomberg: US fund managers suffered their worst-ever quarter for ESG-focused products as the pace of client redemptions intensified.

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