Plus, the FDA said Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was effective after just one dose, Tesla is having another share sale, and Apple announced the release of its Fitness+ subscription service.
Stocks were lower to start Tuesday with the Dow dropping 81 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 slid 0.2%, while the Nasdaq traded 0.1% lower.
The chances for stimulus before the end of the year are looking shaky as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to back the $908 billion bipartisan relief plan released last week and backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. McConnell is continuing to tout his own plan, which prioritizes preventing COVID-19 lawsuits against businesses, which is likely to be a potential deal breaker. Still, the House plans to vote tomorrow to fund the government through December 18 in an effort to provide more time to scrape together spending and coronavirus relief packages before dismissing for the December holidays.
The FDA said this morning that data from Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine trails was consistent with recommendations put forth by the agency for an emergency use authorization, adding that the vaccine was highly effective and didn’t raise any specific safety concerns. The FDA also said that the data submitted appeared to show that the vaccine provided protection after the first does, and was “highly effective” following two doses at preventing COVID-19 cases. “As such, FDA has determined that the Sponsor has provided adequate information en ensure the vaccine’s quality and consistency for authorization of the product under EUA,” the agency said in documents posted on its website. Up next, the FDA is expected to decide on whether to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within the coming days, which could potentially put it on track for distribution before the end of the year.
American Airlines shares are up more than 1% this morning after the carrier said it will begin offering travelers $129 at-home COVID-19 tests providing them with results that could help them avoid quarantines as long as two weeks. The initiative begins tomorrow for travel beginning Saturday, and is the latest effort from airlines to try to encourage bookings. Fliers will have access to tests provided by LetsGetChecked and the tests will have an average 48-hour turnaround time. Passengers using the service must also comply with additional requirements imposed by local or state governments including rules on how close to travel the test must occur.
Tesla unveiled a plan this morning to raise $5 billion, marking its second share offering in three months as the electric car maker cashes in on the meteoric rally seen in its shares this year that has pushed the stock more than 665% higher. The company said the shares will be sold “from time to time” and “at-the-market” prices, according to a filing with the SEC. The share sale could lead Tesla’s cash balance to approach $5 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence credit analyst Joel Levington, with the company’s credit quality now “well in excess” of its ratings even after three upgrades during the pandemic. The share offering also comes at a critical time for Tesla, which is currently building new factories in Austin, Texas, and outside Berlin, Germany, as well as expanding output at its existing vehicle-assembly factories in Fremont, California, and Shanghai.
Peloton shares fell more than 1% in early trading following Apple’s announcement of the release of its Fitness+ subscription service for digital fitness class. Apple’s service launches on December 14, and will cost $9.99 per month, or $79.99 per year—cheaper than Peloton’s subscription fee of $12.99 per month—with users being able to watch workout videos on their iPhones, iPads, or Apple TVs and sync their exercise metrics from their Apple Watches. Apple also announced the AirPods Max over-ear noise-canceling headphones, which will go on sale today and begin arriving on December 15 for $549. The company touted the headphone’s superior audio quality and 20-hour battery life in its announcement.
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IGM Biosciences (NASDAQ: IGMS): IGM Biosciences shares are up more than 33% over the last two days following its announcement of the presentation of preliminary clinical results from its Phase 1 trial evaluating IGM-2323, a bispecific IgM antibody targeting CD20 x CD3, at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. “IGM-2323 may uniquely limit supraphysiologic stimulation of T cells, potentially leading not just to improved safety and tolerability, but also to more physiologic levels of T cell stimulation, which in turn may preserve or strengthen T cell responsiveness and further enhance anti-cancer activity over time,” said Daniel Chen M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of IGM Biosciences. “It is very encouraging to see evidence of this repeatable immune activation of T cells this early in our Phase 1 study. We look forward to the continued the development of IGM-2323 and to applying this novel T cell engager technology to additional hematologic and solid tumor targets and indications.”