BLK - Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: DBV's Toddler Peanut Allergy Therapy Shows Positive Results

2023-11-10 06:44:30 ET

Summary

• DBV Technologies reports positive results for peanut allergy therapy in toddlers.
• Meta Platforms signs a deal with Tencent to sell a lower-priced version of its VR headset in China.
• BlackRock plans to create an Ethereum ETF, according to a filing by Nasdaq.

Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

DBV reports positive Phase 3 data for peanut allergy therapy in toddlers. (00:26) Meta ( META ) eyes return to China with Tencent (TECHY) deal to sell VR headsets. (01:28) BlackRock ( BLK ) plans to create ethereum (ETH-USD) ETF, Nasdaq filing shows. (02:15)

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.

DBV Technologies (NASDAQ: DBVT ) reported positive two-year data from an ongoing Phase 3 study extension for its peanut allergy treatment Viaskin Peanut in toddlers aged one to three years old.

The company said that after 24 months of therapy, 56% of participants were able to consume a cumulative dose of 12 to 14 peanut kernels without meeting the predefined stopping criteria, with 81.3% able to reach an eliciting dose of three to four peanut kernels.

It noted that prior to treatment, the toddlers' eliciting dose ranged from a fraction of a kernel to roughly one kernel. No treatment-related anaphylactic or treatment-related serious adverse events were reported during the second year of treatment.

“This is a promising outcome for a community of peanut allergic toddlers where accidental exposure poses significant risk,” said DBV Technologies CEO Daniel Tasse in a statement .

The company plans to highlight the data during a presentation at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting on Nov. 11.

Premarket DBVT is up 3.8%.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META ) has inked a preliminary deal with Tencent ( OTCPK:TCEHY ) to sell a lower-priced version of its virtual-reality headset in China .

This is happening 14 years after Facebook was banned in the country.

The Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter that the deal would make Tencent the exclusive seller of the Quest headset in China.

According to the report, Tencent ( OTCPK:TCEHY ) will start selling the headsets late next year, although the price is not known.

Meta ( META ) would earn a bigger share of the headset sales, while Tencent ( OTCPK:TCEHY ) would get more of the content and service revenue as its games and other apps will be available in the cheaper device.

The Tencent ( OTCPK:TCEHY ) deal would allow Meta ( META ) to compete with TikTok-owner Bytedance ( BDNCE ), which also makes a VR headset.

According to a Thursday filing by Nasdaq ( NDAQ ), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK ) is planning to create an exchange-traded fund that holds ethereum ( ETH-USD ).

Ethereum ( ETH-USD ) itself is surging, up 9% at just under $2.1K -- the highest level since mid-April.

Thursday, Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) also posted solid intraday gains , at one point jumping past the $37K mark, as optimism around an approval for a U.S. ETF to invest directly in the highest-profile crypto asset continued to intensify.

Recall that BlackRock ( BLK ) is one of the asset managers seeking to list a spot bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) ETF, that, in turn, could widen access to crypto to retail investors.

The firm's plan was seen in a filing by Nasdaq ( NDAQ ), where BLK wants to list the ether ETF.

Other articles to look out for on Seeking Alpha:

Meta, Amazon debut feature to shop directly from Facebook and Instagram ads

ICBC, China's largest bank, said to be hit by ransomware attack

Hawaiian Electric to delay quarterly filings, citing potential lawsuits

Big tech stocks should continue to perform better than the whole S&P 500 into 2024

On our catalyst watch for the day,

• It is the last trading day before the China Singles Day shopping event. Singles' Day is noted to be the largest shopping day in the world, bigger than Amazon's Prime Day and Black Friday combined. Some of the companies that have seen a bounce in the past from strong Singles Day trends include Alibaba ( BABA ) and JD.com ( JD ). Analysts will also be watching pricing and demand trends on Apple's ( AAPL ) iPhones.

• Shareholders with American Equity Investment ( AEL ) will vote on the buyout deal from Brookfield Reinsurance ( BNRE ).

U.S. stocks on Thursday ended lower.

The Nasdaq ( COMP.IND ) fell the most among the three major averages, retreating 0.94%. The S&P ( SP500 ) declined 0.81%, while the Dow ( DJI ) slipped 0.65%.

Powell, speaking as part of a panel hosted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in prepared remarks said that the central bank was "not confident" it had achieved a level of sufficiently restrictive monetary policy to bring inflation down to its 2% target. Powell added that inflation had given the Fed "a few head fakes" and policymakers would not hesitate on further tightening if necessary.

The 10-year Treasury yield ( US10Y ) was up 12 basis points to 4.64%, while the 2-year yield ( US2Y ) was up 10 basis points to 5.04%.

All 11 S&P sectors ended in negative territory, led by Health Care and Consumer Discretionary.

Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are mixed. The Dow is up 0.03%, the S&P 500 is down 0.1% and the Nasdaq is down 0.2%. Crude oil is up 0.9% at less than $76 per barrel.

In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 1.3% and the DAX is down 0.8%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Following better-than-expected Q2 results, Doximity (NYSE: DOCS ) is up 19%. And despite topping expectations in Q3, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD ) plunged 27% on a soft Q4 outlook.

On today’s economic calendar:

• 7:30 am the Fed’s Lorie Logan will speak at the money market conference in Germany.

• 9 am the Fed’s Raphael Bositic will speak on the topic, Economic Mobility and Challenges in the Community at an event in Alabama

• 10 am The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index will be released. Economists forecast a lower sentiment reading due to concerns about inflation, high gas prices, and weaker financial markets.

For further details see: