2 COVID-19 Vaccines, 1 Big Difference

Welcome to StockUp, the investing newsletter that believes it's just not Thanksgiving without green bean casserole. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [View this email in your browser]( Welcome to StockUp, the investing newsletter that believes it’s just not Thanksgiving without green bean casserole. (Fight us.) This week, we’re talking about the major difference that could make Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine more successful than Pfizer’s. Plus, Elon Musk’s fondest dream comes true -- at least, we hope this represents his fondest dream -- and we ask why investors should buy a company whose business model seems to be, “Find as many ways as possible to lose as much money as possible.” — Nathan Alderman, StockUp Editor STAY FROSTY 1 Factor That May Help Moderna's Coronavirus Vaccine Eclipse Pfizer's --------------------------------------------------------------- (Before you get too excited about anything you're about to read, Fools, keep in mind that we're just reporting news here – not endorsing any one company over any other.) Good news? In 2020? Feels kinda weird, doesn’t it? Yet here we are a week after Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) released results suggesting a highly effective COVID-19 vaccine, and we’ve still got new reasons to feel … what’s that emotion we vaguely remember, where you actually look forward to the future and think things might turn out OK? We want to say hofe, or possibly hobe? Something like that. First off, Pfizer released complete results from its study of 44,000 volunteers, half of whom got the actual two-dose inoculation instead of a placebo. And yep, looks like that vaccine is 95% effective overall, and 94% effective in older patients at greater risk from the still-surging pandemic. According to The New York Times, only eight of the 22,000 vaccine patients got sick, compared to 162 in the placebo group. Of 10 severe COVID-19 cases recorded, nine occurred among the folks who got a placebo. Around 4% of patients reported feeling tired after their second dose; 2% reported headaches. Second, rival Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) released its own preliminary data for its rival vaccine, showing 94.5% effectiveness and similarly mild and temporary side effects. Both companies still need to get their vaccines approved by the Food & Drug Administration, and to navigate the subsequent hurdles of producing and distributing enough of the vaccine to meet demand in the U.S. and worldwide. But as Fool Adria Cimino reports, one key factor could make Moderna’s job at least a little easier in that respect: temperature. To work effectively, Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be stored and transported at -- wait for it -- negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember, water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.In a regular refrigerator, Pfizer’s vaccine will start breaking down after just two days. The company’s developed special dry-ice coolers to get the shots to doctors, and some well-funded hospitals are shelling out big bucks to get freezers cold enough to store the vaccine on site. But lots of smaller and more rural hospitals and clinics just won’t be able to meet those conditions, which means they’ll have to deliver every dose they get within 48 hours. Meanwhile, Moderna’s vaccine is a bit more forgiving. It’ll stay stable for 30 days at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit -- the same kind of temperatures you can get in your fridge or freezer at home. For longer-term storage, it needs a still-chilly-but-more-achievable negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit. For more on what this means for both companies’ future prospects, put on your warmest coat and [read the rest](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Already subscribed to a premium service? [Click here]( to view your subscriptions. Not a member yet? [Click here]( to sign up! --------------------------------------------------------------- JARGON DECODER A Tip of the Cap They don’t call it “Wall Street” for nothing; the big banks there build bigger barriers of baffling terminology to keep regular Fools like you intimidated, underconfident, and ready to fork over your cash to a broker. Each week, Jargon Decoder translates one of those worrisome words or phrases into plain English, helping you get a leg up on the Wall Street Wise. This week’s term: market capitalization, or market cap. Every public company issues shares that people buy and sell on the stock market. Each share has a price that rises or falls from moment to moment, based on how many people want to buy or sell that company’s shares. When you multiply the total number of shares a company has by its current price, you get its market cap -- the company’s overall value in the market’s eyes. The bigger a company’s market cap, the more successful and popular it generally is, and vice versa. Just keep in mind that like share prices themselves, market caps can be illusory. Investors can set sky-high expectations for a company that its numbers don’t justify, and bid its market cap into the stratosphere as they clamor to buy its shares at any price. But in the long term, if the company can’t back up those hopes with actual results, its share price and its market cap could come crashing down to earth. So while a company’s market cap makes a nifty number to know, you shouldn’t make it one of the main ways you measure whether an investment looks promising. --------------------------------------------------------------- ELON AND ON AND ON Like It or Not, Millions May Own Tesla Stock Soon Perhaps you think Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) represents the future of transportation. Perhaps you believe it’s bound to go bust. Or maybe you’re just saying, “Tesla? Like, the dude with the mustache and the electricity and stuff?” Doesn’t matter, reports Fool Dan Caplinger. If you own shares of an S&P 500 index fund – and a whole lot of investors do -- you’re about to own at least a tiny piece of Tesla, too. On Dec. 21, Christmas will arrive early for Tesla founder and chairman Elon Musk, as the S&P 500 grants his long-held wish of adding the all-electric automaker and battery storage provider to the index. The company has long enjoyed a massive market cap; indeed, it’s so gargantuan that the S&P’s still figuring out how it’s going to add the company to its index without throwing the whole thing out of whack. But until recently, Tesla hadn’t checked all the necessary boxes the S&P demands for index membership, including four straight profitable quarters. (You might remember Fool Alex Dumortier’s recent look into [how Tesla got those profits](. Hint: Not by making and selling cars!) Tesla’s membership in this exclusive club is paying off handsomely for existing shareholders. When the company joins the S&P 500, every index fund that tracks the exchange will have to buy Tesla shares to keep up -- demand that could fuel share-price gains beyond even the market’s current anticipation of that move. Just remember that in order to justify its inclusion in the index, sooner or later Tesla will have to actually live up to its dazzling vision of a clean energy future. For more on what this means for Tesla -- or for folks who own S&P 500 index funds -- stop browsing real estate listings for island volcano lairs large enough to house a moon-shattering superlaser, and [read the rest](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ALEXA, HOW MUCH TURKEY CAN ONE HUMAN SAFELY CONSUME? [Smart Speaker] Not sure what to ask your smart speaker? Keep up with what's happening in the market by asking your Amazon Alexa or Google Home to "Play Motley Fool podcasts." --------------------------------------------------------------- EXCITING NEW WAYS TO INCINERATE MONEY What's the Bull Case for Uber, Again? Uber (NYSE: UBER) might be best known for disrupting the taxi industry with its on-demand ridesharing, or perhaps for its forays into food delivery with Uber Eats. But as Fool Timothy Green reports, the company models world-class excellence in another area entirely: losing jaw-dropping sums of money. Through the third quarter of 2020, Uber has posted cumulative net losses of $22 billion since it went public. The company’s only posted one year of positive net income since 2016, and even that owed to Uber selling off assets and investments. Sure, Uber says its ridesharing business -- you know, because in the middle of a respiratory pandemic, everyone is very eager to climb into a tiny, potentially poorly ventilated space with one or more complete strangers for an extended period of time -- is profitable on an “adjusted EBITDA” basis. But [that term can mean almost anything a company wants]( and thus means nothing. Indeed, Uber can only hope to turn any real profits in ridesharing by surviving long enough to see technology render all those pesky, money-demanding human drivers obsolete. That plan contains several huge flaws: The tech won’t be ready for years yet; Uber would instantly face hordes of competition; it’d have to start owning a bunch of cars, etc. In the meantime, it’ll just keep [setting giant piles of money on fire](. But wait, Uber’s found a new and exciting way to … uh … keep also losing money! Its Uber Eats food delivery service just bought out rival Postmates for $2.6 billion, and it’s growing revenue like gangbusters -- adjusted sales nearly tripled just in Q3 2020. The problem? You guessed it: It’s still not profitable. Archrival DoorDash, which reports a massive 50% share of the food delivery market, brought in $1.9 billion in revenue through the first nine months of 2020 -- and lost $149 million. Right now, with countless restaurants closed for in-person dining, and hungry potential patrons replete with reasons to stay home, the world could not be more amenable to food delivery services. Yet these services stillcan’t make money. For more reasons why food delivery seems no more likely to rescue Uber than ridesharing has, chuck another bundle of $100 bills onto the fire and [read the rest](. --------------------------------------------------------------- NEVERTHELESS, THEY PERSISTED FEATURED PODCAST [Rule Breaker Investing]( 5 Stocks That Will Press On 2020 has been a constant struggle, but Calvin Coolidge said it best: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence." That’s why this week's five-stock sampler looks at companies that press on through time and adversity. [Subscribe on iTunes]( --------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE Quick Reads - [Better than a lump of coal:]( Why Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) deserves a spot on investors’ holiday wish lists. - [The waiting is the hardest part:]( How can you earn a good credit score -- and how long will it take? - [6. Blood oozing from walls spells “GET OUT”:]( 5 signs it’s time to buy a new home. --------------------------------------------------------------- NOT A SUBTWEET ABOUT OURSELVES, HONEST Social Media Post of the Week [Somewhere, right now, there are companies that almost nobody has heard of that are quietly hard at work. They're pushing, innovating, and some of them will change the world. ]( [See all our Tweets!]( Join the 1,300,000+ people who follow us! [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( [LinkedIn]( We work fervently, fastidiously, and Foolishly to make sure all the facts and figures we publish in our emails are 100% accurate and up to date. Returns as of November 18, 2020. Have a question or topic you'd like to see covered in a future edition of Stock Up? Email us at stockup@fool.com. 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