Good morning and welcome to the stock market today! We are at the end of the week, the Ever Given is still stuck, and all sorts of funky news is happening in the special purpose acquisition world. So what will the stock market do today? Dive in with InvestorPlace below.
To start, the top movers this morning are an odd mix. Reddit stocks are still generating buzz, and Nio (NYSE:NIO) is taking a hit after announcing production halts.
So what else will the stock market do today? Here are the top three stories.
What Will the Stock Market Do Today? Get a Shot.
It seems that a lot of group conversations these days revolve around: “Did you get your vaccine yet?” “Which one did you get?” “Did you have any side effects?”
This comes as the United States ramps up the rollout of its Covid-19 vaccine program, currently relying on vaccines from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). President Joe Biden took office with a goal for the country to administer 100 million doses in his first 100 days. With that goal met, he is doubling down. He now hopes to see 200 million doses administered in his first 100 days.
So where do other vaccine makers stand?
As we wrote yesterday, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) finds itself in a pinch thanks to raw materials shortages that are hindering its supply deals. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), also in a pinch, is hampered by its own public image. The company shared its latest data, which also back up the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine. According to the report, the shot is 76% effective. This should bolster confidence and help it navigate the regulatory landscape. But because of reports of blood clots and some funky data practices, investors are not too sure.
Keep an eye on players like Novavax and AstraZeneca. It seems like the clock is ticking for these vaccine makers.
How to Trade the Suez Canal Crisis
Memes, poems and devoted social media threads have helped us follow the Ever Given story.
For profit-hungry investors, however, they have not helped bring in the big bucks. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase know that the 400-meter-long container ship, which is blocking the Suez Canal, is the talk of the town. With this in mind, they are developing what they see as the best way to trade the scenario.
Right now, the Ever Given remains seriously stuck. Experts are saying it could take several more days — if not several weeks — to free the ship. As the team at Morning Brew wrote, the current strategy involves a mixture of unloading the ship to lighten its weight and also dredging the sand to help get the ship free. And in the meantime, the canal blockage is backing up countless other ships carrying goods that our supply chains rely on.
This is where the JPMorgan trade comes in. Factoring in significant delays, and even a worst-case scenario of the Ever Given breaking during the rescue process, JPMorgan is recommending that clients hedge against the crisis. To do this, they are encouraging investors to buy oil and equities like energy stocks and shipping stocks.
The bottom line? If you want a way to trade the Ever Given mess, you now have one. More importantly, as Sam Ro write for Yahoo Finance, JPMorgan highlights that every situation is tradeable. You can take a look at some of our top stock picks for natural disasters here.
Can a Publicly Traded WeWork Work This Time?
Before we had celebrities pumping Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE) or the r/WallStreetBets GameStop (NYSE:GME) saga, we had WeWork and Adam Neumann.
The company, which focuses on providing shared workspaces in hot locales, filed its S-1 in August 2019. Investors were closely eyeing the IPO, largely because WeWork was yet another unicorn with SoftBank (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) banking. In the months that followed, a plague of allegations hit WeWork, ultimately leading the company to walk away from its Wall Street plans in September 2019. Its valuation tanked, Neumann walked away, and presidential candidate Andrew Yang even shared some criticism on social media.
Now, WeWork is back in the hot seat.
Today the company agreed to come public via blank-check company BowX Acquisition (NASDAQ:BOWX). Its valuation this time around will be $9 billion, quite the haircut from its $67 billion price tag in September 2019. Some investors like InvestorPlace contributor Dana Blankenhorn have been quick to criticize the latest deal, but others are fascinated. Could the office-sharing startup be coming public at a relevant time? When the merger closes, will people be returning to work en masse?
Here is some bonus SPAC news: This morning investors learned via the Wall Street Journal that media startups Axios and the Athletic are in merger talks. The end result could see Axios snapping up the sports pub and coming public via a special purpose acquisition company.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
