GOOD WEEK

Axsome Therapeutics Inc

Biopharmaceutical company Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) $59.33 +16.90 surged after it announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Auvelity for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults.  Axsome shares hit a high of $61.11 following the news. They have since slipped slightly but are still up 34% at $56.84 per share.  According to the company, Auvelity is the first and only rapid-acting oral medicine approved for the treatment of MDD.  The drug was studied in a clinical program that included more than 1,100 patients with depression. It was shown to be statistically significantly superior to placebo in improving depressive symptoms.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

71.29 USD +9.85% Jump after Warren Buffett’s of Berkshire Hathaway received regulatory approval to purchase up to 50% of oil giant Occidental Petroleum.  Shares of Occidental jumped 10% on the news to close at $71.29 a piece, pushing their 2022 gains to more than 145%.  Berkshire filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to buy more of the oil company’s common stock in secondary market transactions. The conglomerate argued that a maximum 50% stake wouldn’t hurt competition or diminish regulatory authority.

BAD WEEK

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc

Down to 10.58 USD −42.94% Five months after saying he was a major shareholder in Bed Bath & Beyond, the activist investor Ryan Cohen sold out of the beleaguered retailer, sending the company’s shares spiralling downward.  Mr Cohen’s investment firm disclosed on Thursday that it had sold off the entirety of its stake in the company, just days after the Bed Bath & Beyond’s shares surged as much as 70 percent as small investors also piled in to the stock. Mr. Cohen, who founded the online retailer Chewy and is the chairman of GameStop, has become a favourite of individual investors who have driven meme stock mania.  Shares of the retailer fell more than 40 percent in early trading on Friday, extending a drop of 20 percent on the day before, following news that Mr. Cohen had taken his money out of the company.

Walmart Inc

137.46 USD down −1.16%  the country’s largest private employer, with over 1.6 million workers in the United States, said on Friday it would expand the coverage of abortions and related travel expenses in its health care plans.  The company said its plans would cover abortion in the case of “health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability,” according to a memo from Walmart’s chief people officer, Donna Morris.  Walmart would also assist in covering travel expenses for employees seeking health care services that were not available within 100 miles of their homes. The company is based in Arkansas, which has banned abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest.  When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, dozens of companies came forward to announce that they would cover abortion-related travel expenses. At the time, Walmart said it was “working thoughtfully and diligently to figure out the best path forward,” but did not make any immediate changes to its health care policies.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

US data shows that the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index improved significantly in August and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims declined to 250,0000, compared to the market expectation of 265,000. On a negative note, Existing Home Sales fell by 5.9% in July.