Yesterday, January 12, I posted that Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) CEO had said the company will release results from the trial of its Cover-19 vaccine in the coming days. But today the New York Times is reporting the the company is as much as two months behind the original production schedule due to manufacturing delays, and won’t catch up until the end of April.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said today, January 12, that the the company is in the “final stages” of analyzing the data from its 45,000-patient Phase 3 trial of the single-dose version of its vaccine. “We hope to have that information very soon,” CEO Alex Gorsky said at a panel at JPMorgan Chase’s annual health care conference.
Today, January 8, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the worlds largest contract chipmaker, reported December sales that translate into record quarterly revenue with estimated sales in the quarter climbing to $12.9 billion (361.5 NT$). (The company reports its quarter on January 14.) The projections based on December revenue amount to a 25% increase in revenue in 2020 from 2019.
Commodities have soared on prospects for a post-coronavirus vaccine economic recovery. And copper is one of the best commodities to own in order to invest in the recovery of the global economy–and especially the growth in the Chinese economy–as the coronavirus pandemic recedes in 2021. I already own Southern Copper (SCCO) in my Dividend Portfolio and First Quantum Minerals (FQVLF) in my Volatility Portfolio. Those stocks were up 56.83% and 77.64%, respectively, in 2020. Tomorrow, January 6, I will add shares of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold to my Jubak Picks Portfolio.
“While Corning (GLW) shares have rallied, we believe that a ‘stronger for longer’ consumer trend augurs well for underlying demand drivers in Corning’s business segments exposed to consumer electronics, with further tightening in the glass supply demand environment due to outages at a major competitor,” wrote Citigroup analyst Jim Suva in a note to clients last week.There’s a shortage of the high-tech glass used in video displays, mobile phones, and cars. One reason is a power outage that damaged manufacturing equipment at a Japanese factory of Corning rival Nippon Electric Glass. But another reason is a pick up in demand for consumer electronics products.
Today, Friday, December 18, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a criminal complaint against video-conference star Zoom Video Communications (ZM). The charge is that a security executive with the company worked with the Chinese government to terminate Americans’ accounts and disrupt video calls about the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square. The company also disclosed today in a blog post and a regulatory filing that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and two U.S. Attorney’s offices have been investigating Zoom for months.
First, it was Apple (AAPL) moving away from Intel (INTC) chips in its entire line of Mac computers. Apple’s own new M1 chip has received positive reviews that support the company’s claims that its machines with the new chip out perform standard Intel or Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) PCs. Now, Microsoft (MSFT) is working on in-house processor designs for use in the servers that run the company’s cloud services. The software giant is using designs from Arm Holdings (in the process of being acquired by Nvidia (NVDA) for $40 billion) to produce a processor that will be used in its data centers. Microsoft is also exploring (which means, I think, that the effort hasn’t gone as far as “working on”) developing another chip that would power some of its Surface line of personal computers. The move by Microsoft would be a big deal.
Shares of gene therapy player Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) soared 52.98% in the regular session today, December 10, and tacked on another 3.77% in after-hours trading. I always try to understand a huge one-day move like that–and frankly I frequently fail. Here’s my take on Sangamo’s big move on Thursday.
Dow (DOW) certainly fits the dividend template that I’ve explained in my Special Report: “10 Dividend Stocks that are beating the risky rockets. The stock yields 5.26% after a 0.20% gain today December 9. That compares to a yield of just 2.8% in July 2017 and 3.1% in December 2016. The stock also shows a 1.06% price to sales ratio on today. I think we’re looking at a cheap stock. Tomorrow I’l be adding it to my Dividend Portfolio.
I’m adding Citigroup, the most recent pick in my Dividend Stocks Special Report, to my Dividend Portfolio tomorrow
As of Monday, December 7, I’m adding shares of Omnicom to my Jubak’s Picks Portfolio. The stock’s 4% yield indicates a company that is undervalued and ready to outperform during the post-vaccine rally.
Today, I made Eversource the fifth pick in my Special Report “Dividend Stocks that will beat the risky rockets.” On Monday, December 7, I will add the shares to my Jubak Picks portfolio. Eversource pays a 2.65% dividend.
