Raphael Stevens

Increased interest in the novel technology during the pandemic has driven a lot of capital into the sector, fueling record financings and IPOs.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF, which tracks the biotech industry’s biggest players, has surged roughly 62% over the last two years.
The S&P 500 has jumped by about 47% over the same time period.

Dr. Christiana Bardon, MPM Capital Portfolio Manager

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made biotech companies the hot new technology sector as investor demand drives record IPOs, a panel of top investors told CNBC on Wednesday.
The biotech sector has drawn a lot of attention over the last two years during the pandemic, primarily because “we generated all the life-saving drugs, vaccines, and therapeutics that literally just saved the world,” Christiana Bardon, a portfolio manager at private equity firm MPM Capital, told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell at the “Delivering Alpha” conference.

Pfizer and Moderna’s highly successful Covid vaccines, for example, were developed in the U.S. in record time and use Messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology, which had never been cleared for use in humans before. More than 370 million of the doses have been administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I think, you know, we were always thought of being a little bit less interesting than our tech bros,” Bardon said. “But quite honestly, we’ve been doing the same work for cancer and all the other great unmet medical needs over the last 20 years since we started, since the modern biotech era started with the human genome sequencing revolution.”
Increased interest in the novel technology during the pandemic has driven a lot of capital into the sector, fueling record financings and IPOs, she said.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF, which tracks the biotech industry’s biggest players, has surged roughly 62% over the last two years, beating the performance of the S&P 500, which has jumped by about 47% over the same time period.
Alex Denner, Sarissa Capital Management’s founding partner and chief investment officer, said investors are pouring “enormous” amounts of money into the sector in anticipation of what the industry will do after the pandemic subsides.

“I see a lot of people very excited for the potential to sort of accelerate developing drugs much faster than what was considered reasonable a few years ago,” he said.
The heightened interest has made it “absurdly” difficult for some companies to find lab space or qualified researchers with clinical development experience, he said.
“I think you’re gonna see this overheating but in there will be some consolidation and purchasing there’ll be a lot of opportunity for fall within for there,” he added.
Bardon said she expects areas such as cancer research could benefit.
“Not only can we understand the mutations that are driving people’s cancers, but we can develop drugs specifically for those mutations,” she said. “That also means clinical trials can be more efficient as we only identify patients with no mutations to take through the clinical trial process.” 
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James Spears has been suspended as pop star Britney Spears’ conservator, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The court named California accountant John Zabel as the temporary conservator of Spears’ finances.

James Spears has been suspended as pop star Britney Spears’ conservator, a judge ruled Wednesday.
“The current situation is not tenable,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny said after hearing arguments from both sides. “The situation is toxic. I believe suspension is in the best interest of the conservator.”

The court named California accountant John Zabel as the temporary conservator of Spears’ finances.
As part of the ruling, James Spears must hand over all records to Zabel, who has worked with major studios and is CEO of Media Finance Structures, a firm that specializes in financial and operational management of entertainment projects

Singer Britney Spears attends the Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lester Cohen | BBMA2016 | Getty Images

Vivian Thoreen, the attorney for Spears’ father, called Zabel a “stranger” on the case and strongly objected to the suspension. Penny did not reconsider her ruling on the matter.
Going forward, Zabel will control all of Spears’ financial decisions while Jodi Montgomery will continue to manage the pop star’s day-to-day wellbeing and medical care.
Montgomery, a licensed private fiduciary, was appointed in a temporary role within the conservatorship when James Spears encountered health issues in 2019. Montgomery is reportedly on board with Britney Spears’ desire to remove the guardianship.

A tentative termination hearing is set for Dec. 31. However, that date could be moved as Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, asked for a court date within 30 to 45 days.
Rosengart, a Hollywood lawyer and former federal prosecutor, was appointed by Spears in July and worked to petition for an end to her 13-year guardianship.
The singer’s assets are valued at more than $50 million. She has made several claims of abuse against her father, alleging he has used the arrangement for personal gain. James Spears has publicly denied these accusations.

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More than half of restaurant operators surveyed by the National Restaurant Association say that business conditions are worse now than three months ago.
The delta variant, understaffed restaurants and higher food costs are among the issues plaguing the industry.
Just 9% of survey respondents said business conditions improved over the last three months.

Westend61 | Getty Images

More than half of restaurant operators surveyed by the National Restaurant Association say that business conditions are worse now than three months ago.
The trade group surveyed 4,000 operators between Sept. 7 and Sept. 15 and is using the results to lobby against President Joe Biden’s plan to raise the corporate tax rate and proposed changes to the National Labor Relations Act that would allow fines of $50,000 to $100,000 for labor violations. The association is also asking lawmakers to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was created during the coronavirus pandemic to help keep the industry afloat.

“Restaurants still need help today and overwhelming them with costly new obligations will only prevent progress in turning the tide of recovery,” NRA Vice President of Public Affairs Sean Kennedy wrote in a letter to congressional leadership.
The delta variant, understaffed restaurants and higher food costs are among the issues plaguing the industry. Just 9% of survey respondents said business conditions improved over the last three months.
The surge of new Covid-19 cases over the last three months has led to uncertainty about customer demand and potential new government restrictions. Forty-five percent of survey respondents said that their locations weren’t open at full capacity for indoor dining. Morning Consult’s weekly dining tracker has found that 64% of U.S. adults feel comfortable dining at a restaurant. The poll has held steady for the last four weeks but is down 7 percentage points from its high set on the Fourth of July.
More than three-quarters of operators who took part in the NRA survey said their restaurants are short on staff. Among those respondents, 83% said they are at least 10% understaffed, while 39% are missing more than a fifth of their needed workforce. In response to the issue, restaurateurs are cutting their hours, slashing menu items and reducing seating capacity, which can all impact their revenue.
Menu options are also being impacted by food supply challenges. Only 5% of respondents hadn’t experienced any supply delays or shortages of key drinks and food over the last three months. Total food costs as a percentage of sales have also risen for 91% of operators compared with pre-pandemic levels, dragging down their margins.

Jack in the Box is among the restaurant companies that have announced plans to raise prices as costs for labor and food rise, while Outback Steakhouse parent Bloomin’ Brands has been cutting back on promotions.
And most operators have a pessimistic view of the next three months. Fifty-five percent of operators said they believe their sales will be lower over the coming three months.
Correction: Morning Consult’s weekly dining tracker found that 64% of U.S. adults feel comfortable dining at a restaurant, down 7 percentage points from its high set on the Fourth of July. An earlier version misstated the move.

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The Federal Aviation Administration cleared Virgin Galactic to return to flight on Wednesday after completing a mishap investigation into the spaceflight that carried Sir Richard Branson.
The regulator had grounded the space tourism company’s operations earlier this month, after the FAA learned that the company’s spacecraft had deviated from its restricted airspace during the mission on July 11.
Virgin Galactic has made “required changes” to its communications during spaceflight operations, the FAA noted. The company said that it updated its calculations “to expand the protected airspace” during future missions, as well as taken “additional steps” to the FAA receives “real-time mission notifications.”

Carrier aircraft VMS Eve takes off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, carrying spacecraft VSS Unity on July 11, 2021.
Virgin Galactic

The Federal Aviation Administration cleared Virgin Galactic to return to flight on Wednesday after completing a mishap investigation into the spaceflight that carried Sir Richard Branson.
The regulator had grounded the space tourism company’s operations earlier this month, after the FAA learned that the company’s spacecraft went off course during the mission on July 11.

“The investigation found the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle deviated from its assigned airspace on its descent from space,” the FAA said in a statement, adding that “Virgin Galactic failed to communicate the deviation” as required.
Virgin Galactic has made “required changes” to its communications during spaceflight operations, the FAA noted. The company said that it updated its calculations “to expand the protected airspace” during future missions, as well as taken “additional steps” to the FAA receives “real-time mission notifications.”
Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped as much as 10% in after-hours trading from its close of $22.56.
“We appreciate the FAA’s thorough review of this inquiry. Our test flight program is specifically designed to continually improve our processes and procedures. The updates to our airspace and real-time mission notification protocols will strengthen our preparations as we move closer to the commercial launch of our spaceflight experience,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a press release.

Branson’s spaceflight was not as flawless as it seemed to viewers of Virgin Galactic’s live broadcast. During the ascent, while spacecraft VSS Unity’s rocket engine was firing, a warning light came on due to the vehicle going off trajectory.

The New Yorker first reported the issue that arose during Branson’s trip to space. The report emphasized concerns with Virgin Galactic’s technology and safety culture, highlighted by the recent departure of flight test director Mark “Forger” Stucky — who reportedly was fired over a video call following Branson’s spaceflight. The New Yorker stressed that Stucky repeatedly issued warnings internally at Virgin Galactic about the safety of the company’s flight tests.
Virgin Galactic was targeting late September to early October for its next spaceflight test, called Unity 23 and carrying six people on board — two pilots and four passengers – on a mission for the Italian Air Force. The company has not yet released a launch date for Unity 23, saying this month that the earliest the spaceflight would happen is mid-October given the FAA investigation.

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More than 500 New York City penthouses are likely to sell this year, which would be the largest number since 2007.
Penthouse 90 at 35 Hudson Yards is one of the most over-the-top coming to market.
The views are the main attraction for this more than 10,000-square-foot penthouse, which carries a price tag of $54.5 million.

It’s the year of the penthouse in Manhattan, with the upper-crust shelling out record prices for the highest floors of the city’s luxury towers.
More than 500 New York City penthouses are likely to sell this year, which would be the largest number since 2007, according to the Corcoran Group.

Penthouse 90 at 35 Hudson Yards is one of the most over-the-top building toppers to come to market. It soars above the Hudson Yards development. Listing broker Corcoran calls it a “compound in the sky,” boasting more than 10,000 square feet, five bedrooms, 8.5 baths, a 1,000-square-foot great room, gym, media room and 14-foot-high ceilings.
The views are the main attraction. From the 90th floor, one can watch the Hudson River spill into the Atlantic Ocean to the south, see the lights of the George Washington Bridge and the tops of the trees in Central Park to the north and New Jersey’s sprawling suburbs to the west.
The building also houses the new Equinox Hotel, Equinox Club and Spa and plenty of restaurants and bars. The price tag: $54.5 million. Watch the video to take a look inside.

A view inside Penthouse 90 at 35 Hudson Yards, New York.
Source: Corcoran

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“The Many Saints of Newark” arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on Friday.
“The Many Saints of Newark” was written by the creator and showrunner of “The Sopranos,” David Chase.
The film captures the spirit of its source material, but fails to live up to its roots, critics say.
It currently holds a 77% “Fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes from 61 reviews.

Still from Warner Bros.’ “The Many Saints of Newark.”
Warner Bros.

Who made Tony Soprano? That’s the question that “The Many Saints of Newark” aims to answer over the course of its two-hour run time.
However, those expecting a story about a boy’s rise to the top of North Jersey’s most powerful criminal organization may find themselves disappointed. Tony, portrayed by the late James Gandolfini’s son Michael, plays a minor role in the film. Instead, it’s Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), Tony’s mobster uncle that is at the center of “Many Saints.”

The feature film prequel to the award-winning and beloved HBO series “The Sopranos” opens in a graveyard. As the camera pans up to the headstone of Christopher Moltisanti, audiences hear the voice of actor Michael Imperioli, who played the character for six seasons. He narrates the film from beyond the grave.
Fans of the show will know Christopher was whacked by Tony in the final season. As narrator, he tells the story of his father Dickie, his grandfather “Hollywood Dick” and his grandfather’s young Italian bride Giuseppina during a time period that spans the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Dickie struggles to manage his professional and personal responsibilities — namely running a criminal enterprise while juggling romantic entanglements with his father’s new wife. He’s also facing the betrayal of Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr.), his one-time muscle who is radicalized by the Newark riots of 1967 and decides the Italians shouldn’t have complete control of the city.
“The Many Saints of Newark” — written by David Chase, the original show’s creator and showrunner — captures the spirit of its source material, but fails to live up to its roots, critics say.
“Maybe it was inevitable that the greatest TV show in history should spawn a feature-length prequel that is somehow disappointing: it is watchable but weirdly obtuse with a tricksy narrative reveal that doesn’t add much,” wrote Peter Bradshaw in his review of the film for The Guardian.

The film currently holds a 77% “Fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes from 61 reviews.
Here’s what critics thought of “The Many Saints of Newark” ahead of its release in theaters and on HBO Max Friday:

A.A. Dowd, AV Club

“Those jonesing for a Corleonesque rise to power will be disappointed to learn that Tony plays a rather minor role in ‘The Many Saints Of Newark,'” wrote A.A. Dowd in his review of the film for AV Club. “In fact, for a solid hour, he’s basically Jake Lloyd-sized: a boy watching from the sidelines of a criminal empire in late 1960s Jersey.”
His mention of Jake Lloyd is a reference to the first Star Wars prequel “The Phantom Menace,” in which a child actor played a major franchise character (in that case, Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader) and spent much of the film observing other characters with little agency of his own.
Many of the things that made “The Sopranos” a breakout hit are missing from “The Many Saints of Newark,” Dowd said.
“Where’s the prickly psychology, the gaspingly funny midnight-black humor, the dimension Chase brought to every corner of a corrosively amoral criminal empire?” he asked. “Two decades ago, ‘The Sopranos’ proved you could create something truly novelistic on the small screen, helping usher in a supposed golden age of TV by using the freedoms of the format to tell sprawling stories — and develop characters — in a manner not possible on the big screen.”
“The irony of ‘The Many Saints Of Newark’ is that it seems to make that case all over again: While ‘The Sopranos’ demonstrated that the tropes of gangster cinema could be reinvigorated through serialized storytelling, filtering them back into a two-hour format leaves only … the tropes,” he said.
Read the full review from AV Club.

Still from “The Many Saints of Newark.”
Warner Bros.

Linda Marric, The London Economic

While “The Many Saints of Newark” may appeal most to fans of “The Sopranos,” Linda Marric of The London Economic says the film “has something for everyone.”
Marric praised the performances of Gandolfini, who is filling his father’s large shoes, and Nivola as “electrifying.”
“With a fair bit of self-reflexive flair and rather amusing Easter eggs designed to delight the show’s faithful, the film does exactly what was expected from it, even if it does sometimes lose itself slightly in the second act,” she wrote in her review of the film. “A genuinely thrilling film which will make you want to break out your Sopranos boxsets and watch the whole thing from the start again.”
Read the full review from The London Economic.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

While the story of the Moltisanti family is interesting, The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw wonders if “The Many Saints of Newark” may have benefited from focusing more on Tony Soprano’s parents.
Livia, Tony’s mother played by Vera Farmiga, was a main antagonist in the television series, even going so far as to attempt to kill her own son.
“We hear about Livia’s psychological problems as well as Tony’s (Tony’s high-school career counsellor wittily echoing the role of a therapist) but Farmiga should surely have been far more important,” Bradshaw said.
He praised Farmiga’s ability to recreate the mannerisms that Nancy Marchand first brought to life in the series.
“There is a gloriously dysfunctional moment when, maddened beyond endurance by his wife, Johnny subjects her to a mock-execution in the car, firing his gun just by her ear,” Bradshaw explained. “But Livia stays utterly unmoved, staring implacably even as her headscarf smokes and Johnny is reduced to muttering: ‘Don’t give me that look.'”
“There are many sinners here: for the next film, I want a starring role for Tony’s mother – the most terrifying Livia since I, Claudius,” he said.
Read the full review from The Guardian.

Michael Gandolfini stars as Tony Soprano in “The Many Saints of Newark.”
Warner Bros.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman, like many critics, praised Michael Gandolfini’s portrayal of his father’s character Tony Soprano.
He “matches up with his actor father in ways that are uncanny and dramatically touching,” Gleiberman wrote in his review of the film. “The front teeth that jut out slightly, creating a subliminal lisp, the look of imploring moon-faced wonder: We look at this long-haired but still wide-eyed kid, who’s like an edgier John Cusack, and he’s just what you might have imagined Tony Soprano would be as a New Jersey delinquent caught between his painfully dysfunctional family and the culture of rock ‘n’ roll freedom.”
Still, “The Many Saints of Newark” didn’t quite live up to Gleiberman’s expectations.
“The thing we most want from this movie, which arrives 14 years after ‘The Sopranos’ ended, is a sense of revelation,” he wrote. “We want it to show us how Tony Soprano, growing up as a ‘normal’ Italian-American teenager, slipped onto the road that would lead him to become a gangster sociopath. We need to see him take that first step.”
This film doesn’t do that, he said.
“Watching ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ this ‘Sopranos’ fan found Tony’s ‘evolution’ toward the dark side to be even less convincing than Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader at the climax of ‘Revenge of the Sith,'” he wrote. “At the end, I felt like we needed a second prequel, or maybe just that essential TV thing: another episode.”
Read the full review from Variety.

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Eyewear start-up Warby Parker started trading Wednesday morning via a direct listing.
The stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WRBY.
“We have less than 1% of market share in this massive category, and see huge tailwinds to grow our top line and our bottom line in the years to come,” Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO, said Wednesday on “Squawk Box.”

The eyewear start-up Warby Parker made its public debut Wednesday, via a direct listing, at $54.05 per share, soaring more than 30% above a $40 reference price.
The stock closed at $54.49 during its first day of trading, climbing 36%. That gives the company a valuation of more than $6 billion, based on shares outstanding.

The stock is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WRBY. The debut is testing investors’ appetite for a household direct-to-consumer retail name, as the company spearheaded a movement of other brands launching online first and bypassing wholesale.
Warby Parker joins names such as Spotify, Roblox and Coinbase that have also gone public through a direct listing, rather than an initial public offering. In a direct listing, a company doesn’t raise new capital from banks. Instead, it lists its shares on an exchange, and the shares begin trading at a price set through negotiation between the company and public investors. Insiders are then able to sell shares whenever they choose.
The NYSE set a reference price of $40 on Tuesday night based on previous trades on private markets, which gave the company a market value of about $4.5 billion. Ultimately, the publicly listed price was based on investor demand. Shares of the company had traded privately in April at $24.53, according to company filings.

Co-CEOs, Neil Blumenthal & Dave Gilboa of Warby Parker at the NYSE, September 29, 2021.
Source: NYSE

When Warby Parker was founded in 2010, the company was initially sending customers glasses to try on at home and keep what they wanted to buy. The company has expanded by opening up stores, which has helped to balance out the hefty expenses that come with running a massive e-commerce operation. In 2019, it launched a line of daily contact lenses.
“We have less than 1% of market share in this massive category, and see huge tailwinds to grow our top line and our bottom line in the years to come,” Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO, said Wednesday on “Squawk Box.”

“There’s so much opportunity to scale our physical retail footprint but also scale our e-commerce offering,” he said.
In recent years, Warby Parker’s sales have grown but so have its losses. Its net revenue in the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2020, grew to $393.7 million from $370.5 million in 2019, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Warby Parker broke even two years ago, but in 2020 its net loss totaled $55.9 million.
In recent months, Warby Parker has continued to lose money. It lost $7.3 million in the six months ended June 30.
One of the eyeglass maker’s largest investments in the coming years will be in bricks-and-mortar growth, which Warby Parker hopes will fuel earnings. While it forecasts revenue will keep growing, the company has yet to reveal when it might become profitable.
The company is planning to open 30 to 35 new stores by the end of fiscal 2021, bringing its total shop count to about 155 to 160 locations.
Although its stores were temporarily shut during the pandemic, Warby Parker has benefited from having a strong digital presence. Many consumers are still shopping more online. Roughly 50% of Warby Parker’s sales came from digital in the first six months of this year, according to the company’s filings, compared with 60% last year.
“Ultimately we don’t care where a customer transacts,” Gilboa said. “We just want to make sure that they have the best experience possible.”
Warby Parker is also looking to grow in categories beyond glasses. Last year, about 95% of its sales were glasses, while 2% came from contact lenses, 1% from eye exams and 2% from eyewear accessories.
Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO, sees the chance to scale in those other categories.
“Contact lenses are 2% of our business, but it’s a $5 billion-plus market,” he said. “Same with eye exams … 1% of our business, but it’s also a $5 billion-plus [market] — massive opportunities for us in the future.”
For its fiscal third quarter that will end on Thursday, Warby Parker sees net revenue ranging between $131 million and $133 million, which would represent an increase of 26% to 28% from 2020 levels.
For the year, it expects sales to total $532 million to $537 million. In fiscal 2022, Warby Parker estimates, net revenue will rise at least 25% from the prior year.
In Warby Parker’s direct listing, registered stockholders will be able to sell 92.5 million Class A shares, but the company won’t receive any proceeds from those sales.
Warby Parker’s investors include Tiger Global Management, General Catalyst, Baillie Gifford and D1 Capital Partners.
Warby Parker is a four-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company.
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