Morning Brief – March 15, 2022

By Editor•

Vaccine stocks could be some of the top performers of 2022.

In fact, just yesterday, Pfizer (PFE) was up about $2 to $52.25.  Moderna (MRNA) was up about $12 to $150.  BioNTech (BNTX) was up about $16 to about $152 a share.

All as the coronavirus makes its rounds – again.

China, for instance, is battling another wave of coronavirus infection. Millions of people across China are on lockdown.  Schools in Shanghai are closed.  Worse, “China, the last major country to relentlessly pursue a Covid-zero policy, reported 1,437 cases across dozens of cities on Monday. That’s a fourfold jump in a week,” says ABC News.

Also, cases are mounting again in Germany, where the German Health Minister says the situation has become “critical,” according to DW.com.  

“We are in a situation that I would like to describe as critical,” Lauterbach said at the weekly coronavirus press briefing in Berlin. “We have strongly rising case figures again. […] I keep reading that the omicron variant is a milder variant but that’s only true to a limited extent.”

Then, to prevent a potential resurgence in other parts of the world, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says a fourth booster vaccine is necessary.  As reported by NBC News, “Bourla said Friday that Pfizer’s scientists are now seeing the protection from the initial booster shot begin to wane against omicron after three or four months, meaning a fourth dose may be needed.”

Making things worse, another variant – called Deltacron – is reportedly making the rounds. Reports say this one combines the elements of delta and omicron.

With the virus spreading again, do keep an eye on vaccine stocks.

Markets

  • The Dow is down about five points to 33,830
  • The S&P 500 is up about four points to 4,167.75
  • The NASDAQ is up 40 points to 13,084.75
  • Gold prices are down about $28.14 to $1,924.16
  • Bitcoin is down about 1% to $38,676.84
  • Oil prices are down about $6.28 to $96.73
  • The VIX is up 1.37 points to 32.12

 

Trading Tips

It’s March Madness, baby!

The 2022 NCAA Tournament is about to tip off, creating a big opportunity for sports stocks.

According to Sporting News “The 68-team for the NCAA Tournament is set and soon, college basketball fans will be able to sit in front of their TVs and streaming devices and watch 12 glorious, consecutive hours of the sport. The behemoth tournament will feature a whopping 67 games with the final one determining the champion for the 2021-22 college basketball season.”

With that, investors are rolling the dice on sports betting stocks… Read more here.

Insider Buying – Crocs Inc. (CROX)

The pullback in CROX may be overdone.

Not only is the stock wildly oversold, but insiders are buying at these low prices.  Director Doug Treff paid $1.5 million for a total of 17,700 shares, at an average price of $84.13. Crocs Chairman Thomas Smach paid $986,025 for a total of 11,897 shares, an average price of $82.88.

 

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