Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it’s us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it’s contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting ...
Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it’s us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it’s contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting with us, check out the Odd Lots Discord , where you can hang out and talk with us and with other listeners 24/7. Here’s what Tracy’s thinking about... Just a short one from me today. Today we had Producer Price Inflation coming higher than expected, with the headline figure up 0.5% in January compared to expectations of a 0.3% rise. But what’s more interesting than the number itself is the market reaction. Treasury yields on Friday are falling — the 10-year is down 4 basis points to 3.95%, its lowest level since last October. That’s not the move you’d typically expect after a stronger‑than‑expected inflation print. (Yields on TIPS, by contrast, have been ticking higher.) So what exactly is the bond market seeing right now? There are a few candidates to choose from: potential geopolitical escalation with Iran (both oil and gold are up), the AI-eats-world-doom scenario, or maybe growing contagion risk from private credit (both publicly-traded junk-rated debt and financials are also getting hit today). On that last point — one quick word on private credit. We’ve been writing here about how much of what once made the asset class appealing is now being called into question . One of the big selling points was the idea that it’s, well, private . The illiquidity was supposed to shield investors from the whiplash of public‑market sentiment. In theory, private credit managers could calmly ride out a downturn while everyone else marked to market. But what we’ve seen in recent weeks is that private credit isn’t all that private, and its investors aren’t that patient either. There are p...
Apollo Global Management Inc. has netted roughly $250 million in paper gains so far from a bet it made in recent months to support Elon Musk ’s xAI . The gains came as part of an investment Apollo made that will give the artificial-intelligence startup access to Nvidia Corp. ’s graphics processing units, according to people familiar with the matter. Apollo has invested $7 billion in xAI debt, the ...
Apollo Global Management Inc. has netted roughly $250 million in paper gains so far from a bet it made in recent months to support Elon Musk ’s xAI . The gains came as part of an investment Apollo made that will give the artificial-intelligence startup access to Nvidia Corp. ’s graphics processing units, according to people familiar with the matter. Apollo has invested $7 billion in xAI debt, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Representatives for Apollo and xAI declined to comment. The alternative asset manager bought about $3.5 billion of xAI’s debt in December at 99 cents on the dollar, the people said. The loans offer a coupon of 10%, they added. The company’s merger with Musk’s SpaceX , announced Feb. 3, boosted the price of that debt to as much as 106 cents. Apollo had previously syndicated about half of that to clients at 99 cents while retaining the rest, giving it roughly $120 million of paper profits on that portion of the investment, the people said. Read More: SpaceX Is Said to Weigh Confidential IPO Filing as Soon as March Separately, Apollo booked another $100 million of paper gains after buying an additional $3.5 billion of loans in February that are also now trading higher. The firm had also offloaded some of that at the 99-cent issue price, drawing demand from insurers and asset managers, the people said. The trades provide a window into the opaque world of private lending, where prices aren’t typically disclosed. Apollo, which opened up trading on the xAI debt it bought earlier in the year, has been pushing to syndicate private credit more broadly, building a marketplace and partnering with banks to deliver real-time prices. The firm traded almost $10 billion of high-grade private loans last year. All of the Apollo debt for xAI is earmarked for a special purpose vehicle managed by Valor Equity Partners to help Musk’s startup rent chips for its Colossus 2 data-center site in Memphis. Apollo Traded $10 Bi...
The gains came as part of an investment Apollo made that will give the artificial-intelligence startup access to Nvidia Corp.’s graphics processing units, according to people familiar with the matter. Apollo has invested $7 billion in xAI debt, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The gains came as part of an investment Apollo made that will give the artificial-intelligence startup access to Nvidia Corp.’s graphics processing units, according to people familiar with the matter. Apollo has invested $7 billion in xAI debt, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
On "Bloomberg Real Yield" Meghan Graper, the global of head of debt capital markets at Barclays, and Maureen O'Connor, the global head of high-grade debt syndicate at Wells Fargo, join Matt Miller and Emily Graffeo. They discuss credit concerns, issuance, and the debt spending related to AI. (Source: Bloomberg)
On "Bloomberg Real Yield" Meghan Graper, the global of head of debt capital markets at Barclays, and Maureen O'Connor, the global head of high-grade debt syndicate at Wells Fargo, join Matt Miller and Emily Graffeo. They discuss credit concerns, issuance, and the debt spending related to AI. (Source: Bloomberg)
tadamichi/iStock via Getty Images Breaking News - Neurogene Snags Breakthrough Therapy Designation For Gene Therapy Neurogene ( NGNE ) stock is buoyant in trading today – shares have risen in value by >25% at the time of writing, to $25.4 per share, valuing the company at a market cap of ~$393m, after the company issued a press release last night noting it had been awarded a Breakthrough Therapy D...
tadamichi/iStock via Getty Images Breaking News - Neurogene Snags Breakthrough Therapy Designation For Gene Therapy Neurogene ( NGNE ) stock is buoyant in trading today – shares have risen in value by >25% at the time of writing, to $25.4 per share, valuing the company at a market cap of ~$393m, after the company issued a press release last night noting it had been awarded a Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA for its Rett Syndrome candidate NGN-401. In a press release , the company noted that the award was based on: interim NGN-401 Phase 1/2 data demonstrating clinically meaningful, durable and multidomain functional improvements. The company also discussed NGN-401 as follows: NGN-401 is being evaluated as a one-time treatment for Rett syndrome and is designed to deliver the full-length human MECP2 gene under the control of Neurogene’s proprietary EXACT™ transgene regulation technology. It is delivered through intracerebroventricular administration to achieve the broadest targeting directly to the brain and nervous system based on nonclinical biodistribution data. NGN-401 is currently being evaluated in the Embolden™ registrational clinical trial, with completion of dosing expected in the second quarter of 2026. Neurogene Overview - Updates & Analysis From My Last Note The last time I covered Neurogene, a New York rare disease/gene therapy specialist drug developer, in a note for Seeking Alpha, it was March 2024, and I awarded the stock a Hold rating . Shares traded at $49.5 at that time, having gained >250% since Neurogene listed on the Nasdaq via a merger with Neoleukin Therapeutics (more detail in my last post), but they have since lost ~50% of their value, trading at $25 today. Market cap valuation today is ~$400m. In my last post I discussed Neurogene's EXACT technology platform for precise transgene expression – for an in-depth discussion of the platform and its merits, see my last post – and its two clinical candidates, NGN-401, indicated for Rett ...
The Motley Fool's 2026 Best Places to Retire report is a comprehensive look at the United States, including everything from small towns to giant metropolises. Transportation is one of the key factors that come up. In some areas, you simply have to have an automobile. But what if you want to or have to stop driving for some reason? There are plenty of options for you; here are a few of the best. If...
The Motley Fool's 2026 Best Places to Retire report is a comprehensive look at the United States, including everything from small towns to giant metropolises. Transportation is one of the key factors that come up. In some areas, you simply have to have an automobile. But what if you want to or have to stop driving for some reason? There are plenty of options for you; here are a few of the best. If you are looking to retire in the Northeast , there are some obvious choices with regard to expansive transportation systems. New York City and Boston are the top names that come to mind. However, don't overlook other cities in the region, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Those two cities actually rank No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, on The Motley Fool's list of top cities to retire to in the Northeast. That said, Pittsburgh is known for its many stairs, so retirees with physical limitations might want to avoid it. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images The launch of Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.'s ( DAWN ) Ojemda has been a focus of commentary around the company, but the story has gained complexity with the company's developmental efforts coming into focus in 2026. I wrote about DAWN in June 2025, rating it a Buy, based on the strength of the Ojemda launch, the valuation, and the antibody-drug conjugate (A...
PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images The launch of Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.'s ( DAWN ) Ojemda has been a focus of commentary around the company, but the story has gained complexity with the company's developmental efforts coming into focus in 2026. I wrote about DAWN in June 2025, rating it a Buy, based on the strength of the Ojemda launch, the valuation, and the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) DAY-301 having a validated target. This article checks back in with the Ojemda launch and the catalysts ahead for the company. Ojemda Launch Continues Upward DAWN's Q4 '25 net product revenues of $52.8M represent a breakout quarter for the company. Those numbers also came with guidance for U.S. net product revenues of $225M-$250M in 2026 (representing 50% growth at the midpoint compared to $155.4M for 2025). DAWN Presentation, February 2026. DAWN's guidance is in part the result of updated FIREFLY-1 data (3-year follow-up) which was presented in November 2025, so the impact of that might not have even been reflected in Q4 '25 numbers in earnest. Catalysts Ahead For DAY-301, Emi-Le And Ojemda As for the road ahead, DAWN has the potential to expand Ojemda into front-line usage in pediatric low-grade glioma with the FIREFLY-2 trial. Investors should look out for timely completion of enrollment, since at the time of Q4 '25 earnings, the trial was not yet fully enrolled, but guidance was for H1'26 completion of enrollment. DAWN is also guiding for a topline readout from FIREFLY-2 in mid-2027. Meeting that guidance would, of course, be more plausible if the trial completes enrollment on schedule. The nearer-term readout, however, comes from work with DAWN's new drug emiltatug ledadotin (Emi-Le), a B7-H4-targeting ADC. DAWN picked up Emi-Le via its acquisition of Mersana Therapeutics, which it announced in November 2025 and completed in January 2026. At the time of the acquisition, DAWN noted the potential of Emi-Le in adenoid cystic carcinoma type-1 (ACC-1), a rare cancer wit...
Earnings Call Insights: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Chih-Hsiang Lin highlighted record quarterly results, stating "total revenue increased 83% compared to 2024 to a record $456 million." He emphasized the "robust demand in both our CATV and data center business" and noted a "fourth 800G buying order from one of our major hyperscale customers to support its AI data ce...
Earnings Call Insights: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Chih-Hsiang Lin highlighted record quarterly results, stating "total revenue increased 83% compared to 2024 to a record $456 million." He emphasized the "robust demand in both our CATV and data center business" and noted a "fourth 800G buying order from one of our major hyperscale customers to support its AI data center growth." Lin added, "We have become ramping up production of this 800G module in anticipation of a strong volume ramp starting in Q2." Lin discussed manufacturing expansion, saying, "due to the software investment we have made, we have materially expanded our manufacturing capacity." CFO Stefan Murry stated, "we are pleased to deliver record fourth quarter results that were in line with or better than our expectations and which capped off the strongest year in our company's history." Murry also outlined four key priorities for 2026: "scaling our next-generation data center products...expanding our production capacity...diversifying our revenue base; and...strengthening operational execution to improve our margins and long-term profitability." Outlook Murry projected Q1 2026 revenue between $150 million and $165 million, with non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 29% to 31%. Non-GAAP net income is expected to be in the range of a loss of $7 million to a loss of $0.3 million and non-GAAP earnings per share between a loss of $0.09 per share and breakeven. He added, "we expect to generate over $1 billion in revenue this year with a non-GAAP operating profit of over $120 million." Management stated that "this revenue level is limited by our production capacity and supply chain, not market demand, which we believe is much larger." Financial Results Q4 2025 revenue was $134.3 million, up 34% year-over-year and 13% sequentially, and in line with guidance of $125 million to $140 million. Non-GAAP gross margin was 31.4%, above the high end of the guidance range. Non-GAAP loss pe...
Nio’s self-developed Shenji NX9031 chip is displayed at the company’s booth during Auto Shanghai 2025 on April 25, 2025. Photo: VCG Nio Inc.’s chip subsidiary, GeniTech Co. Ltd., has agreed to raise more than 2.2 billion yuan ($318 million) in its first external funding round, valuing the business at nearly 10 billion yuan after the investment. The electric-car maker said Thursday that GeniTech — ...
Nio’s self-developed Shenji NX9031 chip is displayed at the company’s booth during Auto Shanghai 2025 on April 25, 2025. Photo: VCG Nio Inc.’s chip subsidiary, GeniTech Co. Ltd., has agreed to raise more than 2.2 billion yuan ($318 million) in its first external funding round, valuing the business at nearly 10 billion yuan after the investment. The electric-car maker said Thursday that GeniTech — better known as Shenji — signed an equity financing agreement with investors including Hefei State-Owned Capital Enterprise Investment and IDG Capital. The fundraising underscores Chinese new-energy vehicle makers’ accelerating push to develop proprietary semiconductors as they seek to lower manufacturing costs and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers such as Nvidia Corp. amid intensifying competition.
In trading on Friday, shares of KeyCorp's 5.650% Fixed Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series F (Symbol: KEY.PRJ) were yielding above the 6.5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.4125), with shares changing hands as low as $21.73 on the day.
In trading on Friday, shares of KeyCorp's 5.650% Fixed Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series F (Symbol: KEY.PRJ) were yielding above the 6.5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.4125), with shares changing hands as low as $21.73 on the day.
Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Exxon Mobil Corp (Symbol: XOM), where a total volume of 109,891 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximat
Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Exxon Mobil Corp (Symbol: XOM), where a total volume of 109,891 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximat
The directors of a company tend to have a unique inside view into the business, so when directors make major buys, investors are wise to take notice. Presumably the only reason a director of a company would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the ope
The directors of a company tend to have a unique inside view into the business, so when directors make major buys, investors are wise to take notice. Presumably the only reason a director of a company would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the ope
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Caesars Entertainment Inc (Symbol: CZR), where a total of 33,468 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 3.3 million underlying shares. That amounts to
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Caesars Entertainment Inc (Symbol: CZR), where a total of 33,468 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 3.3 million underlying shares. That amounts to
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in The RealReal Inc (Symbol: REAL), where a total of 16,122 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 1.6 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 47
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in The RealReal Inc (Symbol: REAL), where a total of 16,122 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 1.6 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 47
Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in EQT Corp (Symbol: EQT), where a total volume of 48,001 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 4.8 m
Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in EQT Corp (Symbol: EQT), where a total volume of 48,001 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 4.8 m
In trading on Friday, shares of Rexford Industrial Realty Inc's 5.875% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (Symbol: REXR.PRB) were yielding above the 6.5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.4688), with shares changing hands as low as $22.50 on the
In trading on Friday, shares of Rexford Industrial Realty Inc's 5.875% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (Symbol: REXR.PRB) were yielding above the 6.5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.4688), with shares changing hands as low as $22.50 on the