Did you buy any meme stocks or cryptos?

Biggest Ripper: While everybody was busy squeezing the shorts, the vaccine development company Novavax became last week’s biggest Ripper. $NVAX went on a 65% jump after reporting its vaccine was nearly 90% “efficient” in its late-stage U.K. study. This level of efficacy puts it on the same level as the U.S.-approved Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. The $NVAX vaccine ran into trouble against the new South African strain, but it looks likely to be approved for use in Europe despite these shortcomings. A separate late-stage trial in the U.S. is expected to wrap up in the weeks ahead.

Last week: Volatility in stocks sent major indexes like the S&P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones into the negative for the year. This is the worst week performance since right before the election. Despite this, momentum stocks like GameStop ($GME) and AMC Entertainment ($AMC) had tremendous success. Those same r/WallStreetBets traders in the retail crowd now have their eyes on dogecoin and silver.

Coming up: There’s a rumor circulating that two of the biggest U.S-based oil companies are seeking a potential merger. Chevron and Exxon have been punished over the last few years, and oil prices crashed in 2020 due to sky-high supply and very low demand. It’s expected to take a toll on the broader industry, setting up M&A actions like this. However, it’s unlikely that the current administration would approve of such a merger between $CVX and $XOM. Watch this space.

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