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    Biohaven CEO says drug approval is 'monumental' for migraine patients

    In this articleBHVNBiohaven CEO Vlad Coric told CNBC Tuesday a recent approval of the company’s migraine drug will “change the paradigm” of migraine prevention and treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week approved the medicine, Nurtec ODT, for preventative treatment of migraines. That comes about a year after Nurtec was first launched to treat the symptoms of debilitating headaches, making it the first pill approved for both acute treatment and prevention, according to Coric. “This is a monumental approval for Biohaven and patients with migraine,” Coric said in a “Mad Money” interview with Jim Cramer. “I’ve been practicing medicine for 25 years, and this is the first time we have a single migraine medication that can do both of these things,” Coric said. “This is going to change the paradigm in which migraine is treated.”The New Haven, Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company has recruited celebrity names like actress Whoopi Goldberg and model Khloe Kardashian to promote the therapy.Biohaven shares closed at $95.36 apiece Tuesday, up 6.5% from where it last traded before the announcement.Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More

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    Fauci says U.S. must vaccinate more people before Delta becomes dominant Covid variant in America

    Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill on March 18, 2021 in Washington, DC.Susan Walsh | Pool | Getty ImagesU.S. health officials are scrambling to get more Americans vaccinated to keep the Delta variant, first identified in India, from proliferating across the United States.The variant has become the dominant strain in the U.K., accounting for an estimated 60% of new cases. It’s now more prevalent than the Alpha strain, formerly called the B.1.1.7 strain, which was first identified in the U.K., and transmission is peaking in people between the ages of 12 and 20, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a press briefing Tuesday.In the U.S., the Delta variant accounts for more than 6% of cases scientists have been able to sequence, he said. The actual number is likely higher, as the U.S. is running the genetic sequence on a fraction of cases.”In the U.K., the Delta variant is rapidly emerging as the dominant variant … It is replacing the B.1.1.7,” Fauci said. “We cannot let that happen in the United States.”CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:U.S. CDC eases travel recommendations on 61 countries, including Japan Fauci says U.S. must vaccinate more people before Delta becomes dominant Covid variant Florida, Alabama discontinue daily Covid data reporting in shift to ‘next phase’ of pandemicCovid vaccination tours? Russia is looking at travel packages to revive its tourism industry Major Chinese city battles Delta Covid variant first detected in India with lockdowns, mass testing President Joe Biden has laid out a goal of administering at least one vaccine shot to 70% of all U.S. adults by the Fourth of July. It’s a bit of a stretch with less than four weeks to go and 63.7% of the adult population having received their first shot, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 53% of all U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.First detected in October, the Delta variant has spread to at least 62 countries, the World Health Organization said last week.”We continue to observe significantly increased transmissibility and a growing number of countries reporting outbreaks associated with this variant,” the WHO said of the Delta strain last week, noting that further study was a high priority.The Delta strain has a stranglehold on India, causing a spike in infections and deaths that has clogged hospital systems. The Indian government announced Monday that the country will soon begin providing Covid-19 vaccines for free to all adults in the country.Fauci also said that the Delta variant is more contagious and may be associated with a higher risk of hospitalization than the original “wild type” Covid-19 strain.Studies also show that two doses of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca shots are effective against the Delta strain, according to the National Institutes of Health.Two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were shown to be 88% effective against the Delta variant, while two doses of the AstraZeneca shot were shown to be 60% effective against the strain, according to NIH data.Fauci stressed the importance of getting two doses after NIH studies showed that, three weeks after being given, just one dose of either vaccine provided only 33% efficacy against the Delta variant. More

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    Thor Industries racks up $14 billion order backlog amid sustained RV demand

    In this articleTHOEven as Covid restrictions lift, RV-maker Thor Industries is seeing sustained demand for outdoor living — and a growing order backlog, CEO Bob Martin told CNBC Tuesday.Thor’s backlog was worth $14.32 billion as of late April, the company said in its fiscal third-quarter report out Tuesday. That’s up 32.5% from $10.81 billion at the end of January and up 550% from a year ago.Martin told Jim Cramer on “Mad Money” that the company is “pretty much sold out for the next year” with most of the new recreational vehicle inventory already promised to waiting customers.”We have backlogs that are full of retail orders, so those will hit the dealer’s lot and then leave, and so we’re still not able to build inventory at our dealer’s lots,” he said.Demand for outdoor living surged during the the pandemic as homebound consumers sought new ways to spend time safely. And younger customers have started to buy in, Martin said.”Right now, we see this as a long-term trend, and if we get people in at an entry-level price and entry-level product, they grow throughout their lifetime,” he said. “People trade every 3 to 5 years, but right now we’re seeing it a little bit quicker, and we see this for a long runway.”Thor makes towable and motorized RVs under multiple brands, including Airstream, Heartland RV and Jayco. The company’s supply in the North American market stood at about 75,000 at the end of last quarter, down almost 30% from nearly 106,000 units in 2020 and 43% below 132,500 units prior to Covid-19 in 2019.The results are similar in Europe, where Thor’s backlog is growing exponentially. The company reported a backlog value of $3.34 billion, nearly five times higher than pre-pandemic levels.Thor beat top- and bottom-line estimates for its third quarter. The company’s total sales more than doubled to $3.46 billion from $1.68 billion a year ago.Shares of Thor fell 1.26% to $115.60 Tuesday. The stock is up 24% year to date.Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More

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    Wall Street Bets targets Wendy's with new stock buying strategy, Jim Cramer says

    In this articleWENCNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday said the Wall Street Bets investing crowd is flexing its muscle on analysts after the online investing group sparked an unsuspecting rally in Wendy’s shares.The stock surged to a record after catching an endorsement in the popular Reddit forum responsible for big moves in GameStop and AMC Entertainment this year.”I want you to forget the analysts right now. The person in charge of Wendy’s is Reddit user Chillznda,” Cramer said on “Mad Money.” “With that [user] and some other favorable anonymous posts, Wendy’s stock explodes higher.”Wendy’s shares rose almost 26% for its best trading day in more than a year. The momentum helped push other restaurant stocks such as Wingstop, Domino’s and Shake Shack higher Tuesday, he added.Cramer noted that the endorsement was a departure from the headline-grabbing short squeezes that put a spotlight on the group of retail investors, which grew in size during the coronavirus pandemic.A short squeeze happens when investors who make a bet that a stock price will fall are forced to cover cut their losses if the price rises instead.”Now they’re spreading their wings, even into an institutional favorite like Wendy’s with a very low short position,” Cramer said.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsWhile Wendy’s and other meme plays can be considered overvalued by traditional valuation measurements, the market must reckon with a new class of investors, Cramer said.”These metrics matter because everyone uses them,” he said, such as earnings per share projections. “If enough people with enough money start valuing stocks a different way, their new metrics matter, too, even if you think they’re absurd.””Eventually the meme stocks will run out of steam, but for now I think they’re just getting started.”Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More

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    Stock futures are flat as S&P 500 remains range-bound near record

    In this articleWENCLOV.DJI.SPXTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.NYSEStock futures were flat in overnight trading on Tuesday after Wall Street appeared range-bound near its record levels.Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also held steady.The S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow both closed near the flatline on Tuesday. The broad equity benchmark is now just 0.3% below its record high of 4,238.04 reached on May 7. Investors await the next reading on inflation to gauge if higher price pressures are just temporary as the economy continues to rebound from the pandemic-induced recession.”US stocks have largely been stuck in a range since mid-April and don’t seem likely to be breaking out anytime soon,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note. “Investors want to see how hot pricing pressures get and how much downside in equities will occur once the Fed’s taper tantrum begins.”The consumer price index for May is set to be released Thursday. Economists are expecting the CPI to rise 4.7% from a year earlier, according to Dow Jones. In April, the CPI increased 4.2% on an annual basis, the fastest rise since 2008.Meanwhile, the meme stock mania continued to escalate on Tuesday with day traders moving into Clover Health, which rallied 96% in one session amid explosive trading volumes. Wendy’s, another name popular among Reddit traders, gained 25% Tuesday.Still, many on Wall Street believe this episode should stay contained to a handful of names, unlike the GameStop trading frenzy in January that had an impact on the broader stock market.”Given the low risk of a broad contagion, we view the fallout of the recent short squeeze to belimited,” Maneesh Deshpande, global head of equity derivatives strategy at Barclays, said in a note. “The current short squeeze is more localized probably because the number of stocks with high short interest has come down dramatically.”On the data front, job openings in April soared to a new record high, with 9.3 million vacancies coming online amid the economic recovery. More

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    Gold as an inflation hedge? History suggests otherwise

    DAVID GRAY | AFP | Getty ImagesGold is often touted as a way to hedge against inflation — a risk that’s top of mind for investors right now.But gold hasn’t lived up to the hype. Its record has been spotty, according to historical data.An investment that hedges against inflation would generally rise along with the rapid growth in consumer prices. However, gold yielded a negative return for investors during some of the highest recent inflationary periods in the U.S.More from Personal Finance:The price tag to go to space with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is now at $2.8 millionBiden budget plan could improve Social Security customer serviceStates will start cutting off federal unemployment benefits this weekInvestors worried about rising consumer prices may wish to consider other asset classes instead, according to Amy Arnott, a portfolio strategist at Morningstar.”Gold is really not a perfect hedge,” said Arnott, who analyzed the returns of various asset classes during periods of above-average inflation.                                         “There’s no guarantee if there’s a spike in inflation, gold will also generate above-average returns,” she said.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsFor example, gold investors lost 10% on average from 1980 to 1984, when the annual inflation rate was about 6.5%, according to Arnott’s analysis.(The Federal Reserve tries to keep inflation around 2% per year.)Similarly, gold yielded a negative 7.6% return from 1988 to 1991, a period when inflation was about 4.6%.However, investors won big from 1973 to 1979, when the annual inflation rate averaged 8.8%. Gold returned a whopping 35%.The mixed record suggests investors worried about inflation would be taking a gamble by using gold as a hedge in their portfolio.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsGold’s correlation to inflation has been relatively low — 0.16 — over the past half century, Arnott said. (This metric shows how closely gold and inflation track together. A correlation of 0 means there’s no relationship, while a correlation of 1 means they move in unison.)”I wouldn’t buy it purely because you think inflation is coming,” said Michael McClary, chief investment officer at Valmark Financial Group in Akron, Ohio.Other inflation optionsInstead, investors might consider upping allocations to four asset classes: stocks, Treasury inflation-protected securities (known as TIPS), real estate investment trusts and commodities (oil, for example) as a better inflation hedge, McClary said.Let’s consider a portfolio allocated 60% to stocks and 40% to fixed income (i.e., bonds and cash-equivalent investments).An inflation-hedged portfolio might allocate 5% to 15% of the stock bucket to REITs and commodities, McClary said. (Mutual or exchange-traded funds invest in a broad array of each.) The fixed income portion may have a 25% allocation to TIPS, he said.These asset classes have a more consistent track record during inflationary periods than gold, according to Arnott’s analysis.For example, REITs returned 11.5%, 20.4% and 9% over 1973-79, 1980-84 and 1988-91, respectively. Commodities yielded 19.4%, 2.3% and 21% over the same time frames.Of course, these analyses examined periods of less than five years. Gold’s record over the long term — spanning several decades — is more consistent with its reputation as an inflation hedge.”If you look at the very long term, gold should hold its value against inflation. But in any shorter period, it may or may not be a good hedge,” Arnott said.Inflation rose 4.2% in April relative to the year earlier, its fastest acceleration since 2008.Of course, while consumer prices have risen in the short term, inflation won’t necessarily have staying power. Most Wall Street economists expect it will be temporary. However, Deutsche Bank, in an out-of-consensus forecast, warned rising inflation could be a global “time bomb.”And investors may view gold as a beneficial asset class despite the inflation argument. For example, proponents often think of the asset as a safe haven during times of turmoil.Gold proved resilient during the market rout in the early days of the Covid pandemic. The S&P 500 stock index shed 34% from its Feb. 19 high to its March 23 trough last year. The SPDR Gold Shares fund lost just 3.6% over the same time period. (These percentages are based on prices at the market close.)Investors whose investment thesis for gold is intact regardless of inflation shouldn’t necessarily change their allocation given its mixed track record, McClary said. More

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    Clover Health shares double on session at one point as Reddit retail trading mania spreads

    In this articleWENCLOVPassionate day traders glued to their Reddit message boards have found their new favorite target — Clover Health — pushing the shares up triple digits at one point Tuesday.The Medicare insurance start-up that went public via Chamath Palihapitiya’s SPAC jumped more than 100% on Tuesday after surging 32% in the previous session. The stock closed off the highest level of the day, but still registered a gain of 86%.By afternoon trading, Clover had already traded over 650 million shares, 30 times more than its 30-day average volume of 22 million shares, according to FactSet. By the closing bell on Wall Street, more than 720 million shares had changed hands.Chatter about Clover grew on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, which now has more than 10 million participants. Clover became the most mentioned name in the infamous chatroom on Tuesday, according to QuiverQuant. Reddit traders have been all over AMC Entertainment in the past week as traders piled into shares and call options of the movie theater chain and drove the stock up more than 110% this month.A short squeeze could be at play for Clover Health, which has 43.5% of its float shares sold short, according to data from S3 Partners. That compares with about 18% short interest in AMC. When a heavily shorted stock suddenly jumps high, short sellers are forced to buy back shares and close their short position to cut losses.Retail traders on Reddit are encouraging each other to take advantage of the big short interest in Clover and aim to squeeze out short sellers.”This looks like the perfect setup for a combined short and gamma squeeze. I see no reason why CLOV couldn’t reach the same price point as AMC did last week ( >$70). It might even go higher than that,” one trending Reddit post said Tuesday.Earlier this year, Clover shares tumbled after short seller Hindenburg published a scathing report that called the company a “broken business.” Clover said in February that it received a notice of investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission and that it intends to cooperate.Short sellers have been adding to their bearish positions as the stock recovered from the initial pullback following the SEC investigation news. Over the last 30 days, shares shorted has increased by about 25%, according to S3.”Short sellers look to be shorting into a rising market and an overheated stock, looking for a pullback off of these elevated levels,” said Ihor Dusaniwsky of S3 Partners. “But shorting into a rising market produces mark-to-market losses, and today’s price spike has resulted in big red numbers for short sellers.”Shorts are down $502 million in mark-to-market losses after Tuesday’s rally, according to S3.Meanwhile, Wendy’s is also getting love from Reddit traders as its shares gained more than 25% on Tuesday alone.The restaurant chain in May reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its forecast for the year.GameStop, the star of the show during the January trading mania, climbed 7% on Tuesday, while AMC Entertainment closed flat.The SEC said Monday it’s keeping a close eye on the recent wild trading in certain stocks to determine if there have been “any disruptions of the market, manipulative trading, or other misconduct.”Enjoyed this article?For exclusive stock picks, investment ideas and CNBC global livestreamSign up for CNBC ProStart your free trial now More

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    Wealthy investors are worried about inflation, CNBC millionaire survey shows

    Shoppers maintain safe distance in a checkout line in Torrance, Calif.Al Seib | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesThe coronavirus pandemic is subsiding, but the new normal might not look the same as 2019.One reason why: The prices of some goods and services have crept up due to inflation and could continue to rise, especially if the government pushes President Joe Biden’s proposed $6 trillion spending plans.This is a major worry for most wealthy investors, according to CNBC’s latest millionaire survey. As many as 65% of millionaires are concerned about inflation caused by recent government spending, according to the report. Of those, 34% said they were very concerned.More from Invest in You:Before you start some post-pandemic spending, make these money movesHow to avoid overspending in this hot housing marketHere are some budget basics to brush up onThe survey, conducted online in April and May by Spectrum Group on CNBC’s behalf, had 750 respondents with investable assets of $1 million or more.In April, the core price index — a key gauge of inflation in the U.S. that strips out the volatile costs of gasoline and food — jumped 3.1%, according to the Commerce Department. That was higher than the 2.9% forecast, and the 1.9% inflation seen the previous month. Including food and fuel, the gauge was up 3.6% year over year, the fastest pace in 13 years.The Federal Reserve generally looks for the measure to be around 2%. Following the pandemic recession, however, the central bank has said it will let inflation run a bit higher to boost the employment rate.Inflation, especially if it is persistent and continues, can be a problem for both consumers and investors. Higher costs weigh more heavily on wallets, and the overall environment can be a drag on riskier assets, as well.”Generally speaking, equities do better in a low inflationary environment as compared with a high inflationary environment,” David Kostin, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, said in a Tuesday interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “And alternatively, falling inflation is generally better than rising inflation.”Breaking down inflation fearsWhile many investors are worried about inflation, some groups see it as more problematic than others. For example, 85% of Republican millionaires are concerned about rising prices, compared with 42% of their Democrat counterparts.Younger investors are also more worried than their elders. As many as 52% of millennial millionaires said they’re “very concerned” about inflation, compared with 40% of Generation X and 31% of baby boomers surveyed. Across the board, men were more concerned with inflation pressures than women.Another reason that rising inflation worries investors is that it could encourage the Fed to raise interest rates. That could be a headwind for equities and means that borrowing money will become more expensive.So far, the Fed hasn’t said when it will begin to raise rates but may start discussing the timing soon. As many as 64% of millionaires said they think interest rates will go up next year.The economic backdropOf course, some of these pressures are a normal part of the economy stabilizing following a shock like the coronavirus pandemic.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has argued that rising prices are related to the pandemic, such as supply chain disruptions and spikes in spending as the economy reopens. She said during a Monday interview with Bloomberg News that further government spending would be a good thing, even if it did trigger inflation and higher interest rates.”If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society’s point of view and the Fed’s point of view,” she said.Investors seem to agree that overall, the economy and stock market are on track to grow. As many as 65% of those surveyed said the economy will be stronger at the end of 2021 than it was a year earlier, and 77% think that the S&P 500 index will close the year up 5% or more.SIGN UP: Money 101 is an 8-week learning course to financial freedom, delivered weekly to your inbox.CHECK OUT: How to make money with creative side hustles, from people who earn thousands on sites like Etsy and Twitch via Grow with Acorns+CNBC.Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns. More