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TRADING HIGHLIGHTS 

Good Week

Shares of the German coronavirus vaccine developer BioNTech (BNTX 5.01%) have climbed by more than 5.6% due to news released that the U.S. government had signed a new supply agreement for 105 million doses of its Comirnaty jab. The company and its collaborator, Pfizer (PFE 2.92%), will be paid $3.2 billion when the government receives the doses it ordered, and the deal also includes the option to purchase another 195 million doses if needed.  The supply agreement also implies a price per dose that's 27% higher than what was negotiated in prior agreements.

The stock price of iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ: IRTC) increased by over 23%. Investors are responding positively to iRhythm Technologies providing comments on the recently released Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule for Calendar Year 2023. The Proposed Rule was released on July 7, 2022, and proposes to update the payment rates and other provisions for services furnished on or after January 1, 2023, and reimbursed under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The Proposed Rule is followed by a public comment period which will culminate with CMS’ release of a Final Rule, which is expected to be announced by early November for implementation on January 1, 2023. So the policies announced in the Proposed Rule are subject to change.


Bad Week

Shares of Ford (F -0.26%) were falling today after the company reported second-quarter vehicle-sales results. While vehicle sales increased 1.8% over the period to 483,688, they fell far short of analysts' average estimate for an increase of 4.2% from the year-ago quarter.  Considering industrywide supply constraints, Ford outperformed the industry driven by strong F-Series, Explorer and new Expedition and Navigator SUV sales And while the automaker's June sales increased significantly, the full quarter deliveries were lower than expected.

While Ford's second-quarter vehicle-sales growth was better than many of its competitors, the fact that recession fears continue to grow facing high inflation and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes. With so much uncertainty concerning the U.S. economy and how consumers will respond to inflation, Ford investors can likely expect more volatility from the automotive stock in the near term.

The terrible week for cruise line stocks continued, not only is the broader market's decline dragging down their share prices, but there are also fears that the companies are seeing pricing pressure for tickets.

Carnival (CCL -2.48%) fell by as much as 8.7% in early trading, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL -3.08%) dipped as much as 8.4%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH -3.89%) dropped 9.2%  The market seems to be realizing that the future looks pretty bleak for cruise lines, and that it would take a massive economic recovery to change that outlook. It may be years before we see these companies generating positive cash flow.


What Else Happened?

Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) is trending today on Twitter and is up 3% in early trading. The cryptocurrency is on many investors’ radar after Elon Musk’s Boring Company disclosed that it would accept Dogecoin as a payment for its Loop transportation system in Las Vegas.  

Tesla has been laying off workers recently, and a private executive network called Punks and Pinstripes has been tracking where they have ended up. According to its recent report, fellow EV producers Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) and Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) have been working hard to recruit Tesla’s ex-staffers. This means both companies are expanding production while Tesla is doing the opposite.