While the coronavirus still dominated headlines, so did oil.
After rebounding for most of the week, oil prices could drop below $20 a barrel again. All thanks to far too much supply, demand destruction, and an OPEC meeting dud.
At the moment, the world is still producing too much oil, and we’re running out of places to store it. Even OPEC just warned, “For oil markets, the massive oil-demand contraction is unprecedented,” OPEC said in an internal document circulated to ministers and seen by Bloomberg. “The current outlook looks extremely bleak, with oil markets anticipated to be severely tested on many fronts,” as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Two, while Russia and the Saudis puts the oil price war to bed, their cuts won’t help the situation much. The two only agreed to cut production by 8.5 MM b/d for May and June 2020. However, that’s just not enough for a market already crippled by demand shortfall. Even Goldman Sachs is now fearful we could see oil at $10 a barrel.
While oil stocks may drop, there are still other opportunities to be found in this market.
Opportunity No. 1 – Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO)
Just days ago, INO launched its human trials for a COVID-19 vaccine. Over the course of the trial, 40 people will be given two doses on the vaccine, and monitored. If successful, INO will then move into another study to test efficacy, with an eventual goal of producing up to a million vaccines for testing by the end of this year. If all goes well, shares of INO could explode.
Opportunity No. 2 – Carnival (CCL)
The cruise stock has been running on news of an investment from a Saudi Arabia fund, which disclosed an 8.2% stake in the company. The fund’s purchase of 43.5 million shares comes as the company struggles for liquidity, notes CNBC, while the virus pandemic cripples its industry.
Opportunity No. 3 – Wells Fargo (WFC)Wells Fargo is gaining momentum – and fast. On Thursday, the stock was up more than $3 a share. All after the Federal Reserve anno0unced it will temporarily lift the asset cap on the bank. The decision came after “Wells Fargo pointed out that the asset cap prevented it from participating in the government’s small business lending efforts, which are being implemented in an attempt to lessen the economic blow from the spread of the novel coronavirus,” notes Guru Focus.
