Plus, a bipartisan group is set to release more details of the $908 billion relief plan today, Cisco is buying London-based IMImobile, and Airbnb said it now expects to offer shares for its initial public offering at a range between $56 and $60 per share when it goes public on December 10.
Stocks were mixed to start Monday with the Dow dropping 116 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 slid 0.2%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.4%.
The U.K. is gearing up to begin administering the first COVID-19 vaccines to the public on Tuesday, making it one of the first countries in the world to roll-out a coronavirus vaccine. The first doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine, which was granted emergency approval by the country’s top regulator last week, will first be given to front-line health workers, care home workers, and those over 80. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the rollout “one of the biggest civilian logistical efforts” the U.K. has ever faced, and the will be the U.K.’s largest vaccination drive ever. The U.K. preordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was shown to be 95% effective at preventing the coronavirus in late-stage clinical trials.
In the U.S., the seven-day average of daily new infections of the coronavirus is quickly approaching 200,000, and there were a record 101,487 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals on Sunday. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said that the escalating surge is likely to be the most trying event in U.S. history as hospitals across the nation struggle against rising cases and the mounting daily death toll. “This is not just the worst public health event. This is the worst event that this country will face, not just from a public health side,” Birx said to NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Given the surge in cases, the CDC is urging people not to travel for the December holidays, with other top government officials warning that things are trending in the wrong direction. Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, said that the nationwide outbreak is likely to grow more severe over “the next couple of weeks,” and added that health workers on the frontline are suffering from burnout following months of treating patients with the coronavirus. “Sadly, hospitals are overrun. I think that is going to get worse, frankly, over the next couple of weeks,” Gounder said. “And I think, unfortunately, some Americans may continue not to follow the public health guidance that we had offered before Thanksgiving and that may lead to further transmission over the upcoming holidays.”
As coronavirus cases continue to rise, Congress is aiming to scrape together a relief package this week in an effort to prevent a lapse of benefits that could send millions of Americans spiraling further into financial peril at the end of the year. A bipartisan group of lawmakers are preparing to release more details of the $908 billion aid proposal later today, aiming to settle language in the legislative text that can satisfy enough Republicans and Democrats to secure passage before Congress breaks for the year. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump are likely to come “on board” with the $908 billion package. “President Trump has indicated that he would sign a $908 billion package,” Cassidy said. “The pain of the American people is driving this and I’m optimistic that both of those leaders will come on board.”
Cisco is buying IMImobile for $730 million, sending the London-based company’s shares up 47% in London. IMImobile provides software and services to businesses to connect with customers through interactive channels including social media, messaging and voice, and helps Cisco move deeper into artificial intelligence as it seeks to create “smarter and faster” customer engagement solutions that make it easier for businesses to communicate with customers. “IMImobile’s omnichannel capabilities make it easy for any marketing or service organization to message with their customers on any channel their customers prefer including WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat and Google RCS,” said Cisco’s vice president and general manager Omar Tawakol.
And Airbnb now expects to offer shares for its initial public offering at a range between $56 and $60 per share, according to an S-1/A filing. The home rental firm had previously set a price range for its IPO to sell shares for between $44 and $50 apiece. At the upper end of the new range, Airbnb could sell $3.1 billion in stock giving it a valuation of $41.8 billion. Airbnb’s IPO is slated for December 10 on the Nasdaq, and will be one of the largest and most anticipated IPOs of 2020.
Stocks We’re Watching
Sutro Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ: STRO): Sutro Biopharma today announced a poster presentation at the virtual 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting for the ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation clinical trial for its CD74-targeted antibody drug conjugate (ADC) STRO-001 for patients with late-line Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). “With three product candidates in the pipeline actively enrolling patients—STRO-001, STRO-002, our folate receptor alpha- (FolRα) targeting ADC, and CC-99712 in partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, a BCMA-targeting ADC—Sutro is working on addressing unmet needs via targeted therapies that can tackle cancer evolution,” said Bill Newell, Sutro’s Chief Executive Officer. “The encouraging safety and preliminary efficacy clinical data presented at ASH on STRO-001 for the treatment of late-line NHL further validates our platform and unique approach to ADC design, creating potential first-in-class and/or best-in-class therapeutic candidates.”