Market Snapshot

What's Ripe

Moderna ($MRNA) – What do The Avengers, JFK during the Cuban missile crisis, and Moderna have in common? That’s right, they all saved the world. But for Moderna, once wasn’t enough. As the Cambridge, MA-based firm begins to tackle diseases ranging from the flu to cancer with its mRNA tech, its stock has been validated enough to earn a spot in the S&P 500, boosting shares 10.3% on Friday.

GX Acquisition Corp. ($GXGX) – Despite the steep drop-off in media coverage, SPACs are still SPACing. Friday’s SPACiest newsmaker of all was GX Acquisition, who charged up 27.2% on news of a finalized merger with biotech firm Celularity. Sadly, GX will have to retire their incredibly creative ticker symbol, GXGX, on July 19th to better represent the new combined company, CELU.

Cintas Corp. ($CTAS) – Usually this is where I would introduce a company by telling you what sector they operate in, but for Cintas the story is a little different. The Ohio based Corporation pretty much does anything and everything B2B. They sell things from uniforms and cleaning supplies, all the way to floor mats, safety equipment, and training courses. Talk about a 'jack of all trades'. Regardless of how random the business is, if you’re making that guap, Wall Street is happy. With Cintas beating earnings last week, Wall Street said “shut up and take my money”, as shares jumped 4.6%.

What's Rotten

Norwegian Cruise Lines ($NCLH) – While you were bumping “Mask Off” thinking that this whole Corona thing was behind us, the infamous virus pulled a classic switcheroo and evolved into something new. The Delta variant, the pandemic’s latest fad, has picked up speed just as we let off the gas. As a result, the reopening trade has stalled out. Friday’s prime example was Norwegian, cruising down 5.3% on a less optimistic second half of 2021.

Gap Inc. ($GPS) – Higher than expected national retail sales couldn’t save Gap from having a bad day. The apparel retailer lost 4.7% on Friday amidst ongoing store closings. Oh yeah, and rumor is that the firm is considering spinning off its highest growth business Athleta, as competitor Fabletics looks to IPO soon. Thankfully though, the firm has self-proclaimed “god” Kanye West on their side, so hopefully they’re sending up prayers.

Uniswap (UNI) – Uniswap, the titan of DEXs (decentralized exchanges), is down bad, like 20% in a week bad. For the last few years, traders have used Uniswap to realize the magic of peer-to-peer digital currency trading, because paying a brokerage is obviously way worse than paying some computer code for trade services. In the last week however, even some of its major proponents have been dumping Megalodon-sized holdings, signaling that the DeFi winter may be far from over.

Macro Monkey Says

Jobless Claims: American workers are back...sort of. While there remains a massive imbalance in the labor market, applications for unemployment benefits continue to move back towards pre-pandemic levels. Gone are the days of YOLO'ing stimulus checks into the furthest OTM options you can find, we’re back to earning our money the hard way.

Food for Thought:

PE Firms ❤️ RIAs: In case you didn’t hear, RIAs (Registered Investment Advisors) are all the rage. We know private equity firms have heard, as the most boring area of finance is attracting buyers hand over fist. In the latest, big boy Bain Capital dove in head-first last week, buying a 29% stake in Carson Group, giving the A-list RIA an implied valuation of $1bn. The boost in RIAs AUM over the past year is making these PE shops drool, leading them to swipe right on any opportunity they find.

Meme Meditation

Wise Investor Says

“Some people get rich studying artificial intelligence. Me, I make money studying natural stupidity.” - Carl Icahn

Happy Investing,

Patrick & The Daily Peel Team

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