(RTTNews) - China's manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in four months in April, survey results from IHS Markit showed on Friday.
The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.9 in April from an 11-month low of 50.6 in March. A score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
Driven by improved market conditions and greater customer demand, total new orders grew for the eleventh straight month in April.
Greater inflows of new work led goods producers in China to expand production volumes again in April, with the rate of expansion also improving to a four-month high.
The sustained increase in sales led to a further accumulation in backlogs of work. Consequently, manufacturers added to their staff numbers for the first time in five months.
Prices data showed a further rapid increase in input costs amid reports of supplier price hikes. The latest increase in expenses was the quickest since November 2017.
Companies often passed on higher costs to customers through higher factory gate charges, which rose sharply overall.
Output expectations remained markedly upbeat in April, though the level of positive sentiment edging down to a three-month low.
"Policymakers have expressed concerns about rising commodity prices on several occasions and urged adjusting raw material markets and easing businesses' cost pressure," Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group said.
In the coming months, rising raw material prices and imported inflation are expected to limit policy choices and become a major obstacle to the sustained economic recovery, Wang added.
The EV company Tesla has invested in bitcoin
NurPhoto/Getty Images
Goldman Sachs maintain a basket of cryptocurrency and blockchain exposed large-cap stocks.
The basket has crushed the S&P 500 by 34 percentage points on average with returns of 46% this year.
We explain the strategy for selecting the stocks and list the 19 cypto-exposed companies.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
Investing in cryptocurrencies isn't always easy. Over the years, the process has improved, as more cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets, such as Coinbase and Exodus, have targeted mainstream users, but there are still plenty of challenges to overcome.Most portfolio managers and financial advisors don't manage cryptocurrencies yet, which leaves many investors to take the lead in setting up their own wallets, understanding how to safely store private keys and researching the merits, as well as risks, of a variety of cryptocurrencies.Even once an investor overcomes those hurdles, they then have to come to terms with the volatility of owning cryptocurrencies. As an example, bitcoin's price dropped 22% from all-time highs of $63,770 on April 15 to a close of $49,078 on April 25. The price is currently sitting around $54,800.In addition to the volatility, investors have to get to grips with the quirks of an industry that is relatively unregulated and constantly evolving. That's not to everyone's taste.For some investors it's too much risk. So, what are the opportunities for investors that want to gain exposure to crypto without taking on significant amounts of risk?For the lucky few, who are accredited and institutional investors, they can buy into crypto market investment trusts from providers like Grayscale, who handle some of these risks.Some countries offer investors, both institutional and retail, exposure to cryptocurrency through a simple exchange-traded fund.Another option, which is perhaps most straightforward, is to invest in companies that have exposure to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.Most investors are probably already familiar with a subset of companies that own, or trade crypto, such as Tesla (TSLA), Microstrategy (MSTR) and Square (SQ). Goldman Sachs released a new research note on April 26 that lists 19 large-cap stocks with exposure to the cryptocurrency and blockchain space."Our screen yields 19 stocks with market caps greater than $1 billion," Goldman Sachs analyst Ben Snider said. "On average, these stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 by 34 percentage points year to date (+46% vs. +12%) alongside an 86% rise in the price of bitcoin and a 156% rally in the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index."Investors can easily incorporate a holding in these large-cap stocks into their existing strategy, thereby gaining exposure to the world of crypto. The basket of stocks appear to follow the price of bitcoin. These stocks lagged the broader equities market by 10 percentage points when cryptocurrency prices dipped over the past two weeks.
Blockchain-exposed stocks performance from Goldman Sachs April 26 research note
Goldman Sachs
Finding crypto-exposed stocksThe analysts at Goldman Sachs leveraged a three-pronged strategy to find US stocks with blockchain and cryptocurrency exposure. They focused on those with a market value over $1 billion.The strategy involved:1) Text searchThey looked for keywords, such as "blockchain" and "cryptocurrency" in company filings, earnings calls, presentations and news articles over the past 12 months.They also leveraged company descriptions on FactSet and Bloomberg."Any relevant finding warrants 1 point; 10 or more findings warrant 3 points; explicit mention in Bloomberg or FactSet company description warrants 3 points," Snider said.2) Regression beta analysisThe team ran analysis to test for regression beta of these company share prices relative to bitcoin - or, in other words, how much the shares moved if bitcoin moved. They did the same analysis to check the relationship between bitcoin and the broader stock market, as a control.The beta represents the relationship. The higher the beta, the more the change in the value of bitcoin will impact the value of the company's stock. "A beta ranking in the top 25% of stocks warrants 1 point; a beta ranking in the top 10% of stocks warrants 3 points," Snider said.3) Inclusion in third-party blockchain indices and ETFsThey looked for stocks in six third-party blockchain indices and ETFs."Membership in any index warrants 1 point; membership in two or more indices warrants 3 points," Snider said.
A graph of the strategy from the April 26 Goldman Sachs research note
Goldman Sachs
Crypto-exposed stocksOnce a company achieves a score for all three areas, these are then get added together and it receives an overall exposure score."We include in the screen any stocks in the universe with six or more points," Snider said. "Effectively, this means that each constituent must screen as highly exposed in at least two of the three approaches."This analysis resulted in a list of 19 large-cap crypto and blockchain-exposed stocks."On average, these stocks have dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 during the last several months alongside the surge in the price of bitcoin," Snider said. "An equal-weighted portfolio of the stocks has demonstrated roughly 60% correlations with bitcoin and the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index during the last several months, compared with 20% correlations for the S&P 500."We break down the list of the 19 stocks. As a comparison point, the average stock within the list has the following qualities:Market capitalization: $208 billionYear-to-date return: 43%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 23xBeta to bitcoin (BTC) exposure: 0.39 Total exposure score: 7A median US stock with a market capitalization of over $1 billion will have the following qualities:Market capitalization: $5 billionYear-to-date return: 16%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 22xBeta to bitcoin (BTC) exposure: 0.03Total exposure score: 0
1. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc
MARA stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: MARAIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $3 billionYear-to-date return: 209%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 15xBeta to BTC: 1.62Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
2. Riot Blockchain Inc
RIOT stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: RIOTIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $3 billionYear-to-date return: 126%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 20xBeta to BTC: 1.39Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
3. Microstrategy Incorporated Class A
MSTR stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: MSTRIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $6 billionYear-to-date return: 58%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 197xBeta to BTC: 0.76Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
4. Silvergate Capital Corp, Class A
SI stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: SIIndustry group: BanksMarket capitalization: $3 billionYear-to-date return: 55%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 47xBeta to BTC: 0.71Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
5. Square, Inc, Class A
SQ stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: SQIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $112 billionYear-to-date return: 13%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 202xBeta to BTC: 0.20Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
6. PayPal Holdings
PYPL stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: PYPLIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $312 billion Year-to-date return: 14%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 58xBeta to BTC: 0.16 Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
7. Overstock, Inc
OSTK stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: OSTKIndustry group: RetailingMarket capitalization: $3 billionYear-to-date return: 46%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 53x Beta to BTC: 0.15Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
8. NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: NVDAIndustry group: RetailingMarket capitalization: $3 billionYear-to-date return: 46%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 53x Beta to BTC: 0.15Overall exposure score: 9Source: Goldman Sachs
9. InvestView Inc
INVU stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: INVUIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $1 billionYear-to-date return: 115%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: N/ABeta to BTC: 1.15Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
10. Ideanomics
IDEX stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: IDEXIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $1 billionYear-to-date return: 33%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: N/ABeta to BTC: 0.65Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
11. Tesla Inc
TSLA stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: TSLAIndustry group: Automobiles & componentsMarket capitalization: $700 billionYear-to-date return: 3%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 175xBeta to BTC: 0.07Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
12. JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: JPMIndustry group: BanksMarket capitalization: $455 billionYear-to-date return: 20%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 13xBeta to BTC: 0.03Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
13. Visa Inc, Class A
Visa stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: VIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $492 billionYear-to-date return: 5%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 40xBeta to BTC: 0.02Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
14. Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
BK stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: BKIndustry group: Diversified financialsMarket capitalization: $42 billionYear-to-date return: 13%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 12xBeta to BTC: 0.01Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
15. Facebook Inc, Class A
FB stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: FBIndustry group: Media & entertainmentMarket capitalization: $856 billionYear-to-date return: 10%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 26xBeta to BTC: 0.01Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
16. Mastercard Incorporated, Class A
MA stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: MAIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $384 billionYear-to-date return: 9%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 48xBeta to BTC: 0.00Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
17. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc
BR stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: BRIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $19 billionYear-to-date return: 7%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 29xBeta to BTC: -0.01Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
18. International Business Machines Corporation
IBM stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: IBMIndustry group: Software & servicesMarket capitalization: $127 billionYear-to-date return: 15%Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 13xBeta to BTC: -0.02Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
19. Coinbase Global Inc, Class A
COIN stock on April 27
Markets Insider
Ticker: COINIndustry group: Diversified financialsMarket capitalization: $58 billionYear-to-date return: N/A Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 47xBeta to BTC: N/A (beta scores only calculated for stocks with at least 12 months of price history)Overall exposure score: 6Source: Goldman Sachs
(RTTNews) - Moderna Inc. (MRNA) said that the World Health Organization or WHO issued emergency use listing for its COVID-19 vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.
The emergency use listing also allows many countries around the world to expedite their own regulatory approval processes to import and administer a vaccine. It also enables UNICEF and the PAHO Revolving Fund to acquire the vaccine for distribution to countries in need.
On Thursday, Moderna said it expects to increase global 2022 capacity to up to 3 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. It also raised its 2021 manufacturing supply forecast to between 800 million to 1 billion doses.
On Monday, French drugmaker Sanofi said it entered into an agreement with Moderna to help manufacture up to 200 million doses of the vaccine in the United States starting in September 2021.
In December 2020, the U.S. FDA authorized the emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in individuals 18 years of age or older.
Moderna also received authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine from health agencies in Canada, Israel, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore and Qatar. Additional authorizations are currently under review in other countries.
