ย
Today we are watching…
1. Modernaย (#mrna)
Modernaโs looking over its shoulder. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fast-tracked Rocheโs Elecsys IL-6 blood test, which can scan a ward full of coronavirus patients for those most at risk, thereby helping doctors allocate resources. Roche also has a testing kit for past infection approved, and will be one of the first healthcare companies to actually monetize a coronavirus-related product. This makes Modernaโs shares riskier relative to other biotech labs looking for cures. The vaccine scene is incredibly competitive and all firms are against the clock. Naturally, the winning company in that arena will be able to retire its investors!
2. Slack Technologies (#work)
Slack missed earnings by a big margin and surprisingly didnโt grow any faster through lockdown, but it did have some good news to share. All Amazon employees now use Slack. The e-commerce giant is Slackโs biggest client ever, and actually, more than a client. The two companies have agreed on a partnership whereby Slack swaps its Microsoft Azure-powered voice and video calling features for Amazon Web Services-powered voice and video calling features. Slack is looking to arm up against Microsoft as the software giant enters its industry. Itโs unclear what normalized profit margins the two firms will share over the long-term, but this latest development certainly favors the Slack thesis.