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Joe Cotton: Four stocks of the week (COF, VERVE, GHRS, BLUE), as market gyrates up and down


Market Assessment – As of Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 1:17 p.m.:

The Market has been gyrating up and down, mostly down, because of the huge Rate Hikes by the Fed, which are expected to continue. But we still think it is the Buying Opportunity of a lifetime for the Big Glamour and Tech stocks like Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) (META) 163.74 with a PE Ratio of 12.82, Alphabet (Formerly Google) (GOOG) 2157.31 with a PE Ratio of 19.96 and PayPal (PYPL) 72.90 with a PE Ratio 25. Great stocks selling at Great Bargain Prices.

We have 4 Stock Picks this week – A solid, bargain priced Bank Stock and three Very Speculative, bargain priced Biotechs: 1. Capital One Financial (COF) 107.26, 2. Verve Therapeutics (VERVE), 3. GH Research (GHRS) and 3. Bluebird Bio (BLUE) 3.56.

STOCK #1- CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL (COF) $107.26.

Joe Cotton

The company focuses on credit card lending, auto loans, and commercial lending services. The stock is down 39% from a high of $177 on August 16, 2021. The company provides various financial products and services in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom including Credit Card, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. Per finance.yahoo.com it has an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $25.57, and a very low Price Earnings Ratio (PE) of 4.20. We consider it a bargain and Investment banker Robert Baird upgraded it to Outperform from Neutral on June 17, 2022 with a price target of $145.

STOCK #2- VERVE THERAPEUTICS (VERVE) $12.65.

This is a very speculative stock that has a single-course gene-editing approach to lowering LDL cholesterol. Its treatment demonstrated potent and durable editing of the PCSK9 gene and reductions of LDL-C in non-human primates, with follow-up out to one year. The company has received clearance of its first clinical trial application for VERVE-101 in New Zealand and plans to initiate a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial in patients with HeFH (heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia) in mid-2022. HeFH is a prevalent and potentially life-threatening subtype of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The company is well funded with $332.2 Million in Cash. BMO Capital gave it an Outperform Rating with a $48 price target. We gave the stock a Buy Rating in our 6/21/22 Market Letter. A Short Squeeze Candidate- Total Shares 48.66 M, Float 23.96 M, Short 9.61 M = 46.51% of the Float.

STOCK #3 –GH RESEARCH (GHRS) $10.55.

This is a very speculative stock that has an inhal-able product candidate GH001 for the treatment of Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD). The results from the European Phase 1 /2 clinical trials were very positive (they seemed spectacular to me), and the company is hopeful of beginning a Phase 1 Trial in the US early next year. Roth Capital gave it a Buy Rating and a $66 price target on June 16, 2022. We also gave it a Buy Rating in our 6/21/22 Market Letter. Total Shares 52.02 M, Float 13.39 M, Shares Short 3.67 M = 17.6% of Float.

STOCK #4 – BLUEBIRD BIO (BLUE) $3.56.

This is a Very, Very Speculative Stock – with the company struggling to stay alive…In April they announced they were cutting staff 30% to save cash, hopefully to have enough money on hand to get one of their products approved. Goldman Sachs gave it a Sell Rating on 5/24/22. We gave it a Buy Rating in our 6/21/22 Market Letter, based on the fact that the FDA’s nonbinding advisory committee had weighed in unanimously for approving its two pending regulatory submissions. The submissions pertained to to its beti-cel and eli-cell therapies, which are intended to treat beta thalassemia and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) in adolescents, respectively. The binding committee, which would be the one to give the final FDA approval, is scheduled to meet in late summer.

Joe Cotton has won three National Stock Picking Contests with yearly percentage gains in excess of 96%. His 2020 Wall Street’s Best stock contest winner was Inovio Pharmaceuticals (Symbol INO) with a 742% 1-Year return.

This article is not investment advice, nor is it in any way to be construed as investment advice. For Investment Advice consult a Registered Investment Advisor or a Certified Financial Planner. Joe Cotton’s website is www.cottonstocks.net. NKY’s Joseph W. Cotton is publisher of the market newsletter, Cotton’s Technically Speaking. He is a graduate of Xavier University, a former bank manager and credit analyst, and a former Fidelity Investments registered investment representative. Contact him at cottonstocks@hotmail.com


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