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Source: Harvard Health Publishing

Adobe (ADBE) shares surged nearly 15% in extended trading on Thursday after the software maker reported earnings that topped Wall Street’s estimates and lifted its full-year earnings and sales guidance amid robust demand for its suit of generative artificial intelligence (AI) digital media products.

Below, we identify a key level to watch out for on Adobe’s chart and review the company’s latest earnings report.

Since forming a double top between December and February, Adobe shares have traded within a falling wedge, a bullish chart pattern that indicates a potential upward price movement. More recently, the stock found buying interest near the wedge’s lower trendline, with volume increasing slightly over the past week leading into the company’s quarterly results. 

Following Friday’s expected earnings-driven breakout from the pattern, investors should keep an eye on the $535 level, an area on the chart where the price may encounter selling pressure near the closely-watched 50% Fibonacci retracement level, which also sits in close proximity to the downward sloping 200-day moving average and a period of February price consolidation.

The stock rose 14.8% to $526.43 in after-hours trading Thursday.

In the three-month period ending May 31, the company posted adjusted earnings of $4.48 per share, above analysts’ estimates of $4.39 a share. Revenue in the period of $5.31 billion grew 10% from the same quarter last year and edged past expectations of $5.29 billion.

The company’s Digital Media business, which houses its Creative Cloud subscriptions, reported net-new annualized recurring revenue of $487 million, well above Wall Street expectations of $437.4 million. Adobe noted that it’s seeing Creative Cloud subscribers upgrade their plans to access Firefly capabilities, the company’s generative AI model to enhance users' creative work.

“We’re pleased with the adoption of AI functionality as well as its early monetization across Document Cloud and Creative Cloud, including our flagship applications, Firefly services and Express,” Adobe’s Digital Media president David Wadhwani told analysts on the company’s conference call.

Turning to the full fiscal year outlook, Adobe lifted both its top and bottom-line guidance. It now expects adjusted earnings to range between $18.00 and $18.20 per share, up from $17.60 to $18.00 a share. It sees annual net sales of $21.40 billion to $21.50 billion, bumping the lower end of that forecast by $100 million. Analysts had been calling for adjusted earnings of $18.02 a share on revenue of $21.46 billion.

While other software companies have recently trimmed their full-year guidance citing concerns over an uncertain economic outlook and softening enterprise interest in AI development, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen told analysts on Thursday that the company hadn’t seen any noticeable changes to the economy.

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Elon Musk emerged victorious on Thursday as Tesla (TSLA) shareholders voted to approve his $56 billion compensation package, as well as a proposal to move the company's incorporation to Texas.

The compensation plan was approved by investors in 2018 but was struck down by a Delaware Judge earlier this year. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, the proposal was approved as a resolution, which could help the board in its battle against the court order.

Tesla stock had rallied 2.9% Thursday ahead of the final shareholder Tally after Musk said late Wednesday in a post on X that both the compensation and incorporation resolutions were on the way to "passing by a wide margin." 

Norway’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which owns 31.57 million Tesla shares and the California Public Employees' Retirement System, which holds 9.5 million shares, both came out in opposition to the compensation package.

However, there were powerful voices in favor of the pay package, including Baron Capital, which holds 17.22 million Tesla shares. Founder Ron Baron said in an open letter ahead of the vote that “Tesla is better with Elon. Tesla is Elon."

Famed short seller and long-time Tesla bear Jim Chanos also said that shareholders should approve the package, saying, “A deal's a deal even if it's a bad deal.”

Analysts had feared that a rejection of the compensation proposal would be detrimental to Tesla's business and its stock price. Elon Musk had previously said he would continue his artificial intelligence initiatives at some of his other companies if the compensation award was rejected. Some feared that he may even leave the electric vehicle maker.

Even with shareholder approval, legal experts are unclear on whether it will be enough to overturn the Delaware court’s decision.

Tesla said in a regulatory filing in April that it hoped shareholder backing would close the door on the issue, particularly after the court said the company failed to disclose important details to shareholders.

Lawyers for Tesla are set to convene with the court in July and will have a shareholder majority as leverage.

Tesla shareholders also approved the company’s plan to move its incorporation to Texas from Delaware. The company moved its corporate headquarters to Austin, TX from California in 2021, after Musk criticized California's regulatory and tax environment.

The billionaire had been critical of Delaware and its court system after the initial ruling on his pay package and said companies should incorporate in other states.

“If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible,” Musk said on X in February.

Other resolutions passed included the re-electon to the board of Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, and James Murdoch, son of Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Tesla shares rose 0.1% to $182.70 in extended trading Thursday. The stock has lost about a quarter of its value so far in 2024.

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Last week, the FDA authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. After conducting their own review, the CDC now recommends this vaccine for children in this age range, who can begin receiving their first dose within the week.

While many families have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity for their children to be immunized, others are hesitant. And most parents have questions about how COVID-19 affects younger children, vaccine safety in this age range, and whether the benefits outweigh potential risks. As a pediatric infectious disease specialist, I hear certain questions crop up repeatedly. Here's what we know so far.

How does COVID-19 affect children in this age range?

While children continue to be much less likely than adults — especially adults 65 and older — to get severely ill from COVID-19, some children do get very sick. Thousands of children 5 to 11 have been hospitalized or need ICU-level support to recover from this infection. Almost 150 children in this age range have died from COVID-19. Additionally, over 5,000 cases of a serious inflammatory condition known as MIS-C that can follow COVID-19 infection have been reported. The majority of cases of MIS-C have occurred in children in this age range.

How has the Delta strain of the virus affected children?

The Delta strain of the virus that causes COVID spreads easily, particularly among people who haven't received the vaccine. Children ages 5 to 11 remain more susceptible to infection, given their ineligibility to be vaccinated. In fact, more than one in five new cases recorded over the past two months while Delta infections surged in the US occurred in this age group, according to weekly reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

Can children spread the virus to others?

Several detailed reports describing outbreaks associated with settings such as summer camps, daycares, and schools, and those tracing transmission of COVID-19 within households, clearly demonstrate that children can spread this virus and infect others with whom they come into close contact.

Which COVID vaccines and doses are authorized for children ages 5 to 11?

Pfizer/BioNTech is the first COVID vaccine authorized by the FDA for this age group, based on results from a randomized controlled trial evaluating safety and immune responses. A separate trial launched by Moderna is being considered separately.

In a small number of children, the Pfizer/BioNTech trial compared three doses:

This part of the trial showed that 10 micrograms, the smallest dose, resulted in fewer side effects while still generating robust immune responses similar to responses achieved with higher doses.

In the next part of the trial, more than 2,200 children ages 5 to 11 were randomly assigned to receive either a 10-microgram dose of the vaccine (two-thirds of participants) or a placebo dose (one-third of participants). All received two shots, spaced three weeks apart.

Those given the vaccine had similar immune responses as 16-to-25-year-olds who had received the full-dose series of two shots.

When Pfizer/BioNTech submitted data to the FDA, there were not many cases of symptomatic COVID-19 infections in trial participants. Out of 19 documented cases, most had received the placebo shots. Estimates suggest the efficacy rate of the vaccine is 90%. (Efficacy measures how much a vaccine reduces infection in a controlled trial.) Tests confirmed that the Delta viral strain had caused the infections.

What do we know about side effects for children this age?

Most children had no side effects other than pain at the injection site. Those who did have side effects most commonly experienced fatigue, headaches, and/or muscle aches after the second dose rather than the first dose. For example, only 6% of children had fever after the second vaccine dose. There were no cases of severe allergic reaction to the vaccine.

What is not yet known?

In very rare instances, the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is linked to myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart. When this occurs, it is mostly seen in young males following their second dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna). Most cases are mild, and children show no signs of long-term injury to the heart.

Among the 5-to-11-year-olds who received the Pfizer vaccine during the trial, there were no cases of myocarditis. However, this side effect is very rare and might not be noted until the number of children receiving the vaccine is much higher. The FDA and Pfizer/BioNTech will continue to closely monitor this age group for any occurrence of this rare side effect.

Can children get vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza at the same time?

Yes. Children and adults can safely get both vaccines at the same time. The CDC urges everyone to get flu shots to help stay healthy during this flu season.

A randomized, controlled trial in the UK evaluated adults who received a flu shot or placebo shot in one arm and their second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the other arm. The researchers reported in Preprints with The Lancet that side effects and immune responses were similar, whether the flu shot or a placebo shot was given at the same time as the COVID vaccine.

What other steps can parents take to protect children against COVID-19?

Parents should remember that an individual is not fully immunized and protected by the vaccine until 14 days after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Masks are recommended for anyone who is unvaccinated, or not fully immunized, when indoors with people outside of their household. If rates of COVID-19 are high where you live, masks may be recommended indoors for vaccinated individuals as well.

Parents can continue to encourage other simple habits that help prevent colds, flu, and COVID-19, such as washing hands often, coughing or sneezing into an elbow, throwing away used tissues quickly, and avoiding crowded places and people who are ill when possible.

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

Former President Muhammadu Buhari says he’s pleased that more Nigerians have taken to the farm to grow more food and feed the nation.

Stressing that uncontrolled population growth was a matter for concern, Buhari appealed to Nigerians to make the country self-reliant by continue to grow their food and buy food made in Nigeria.

The former Nigerian leader spoke when addressing journalists in Daura, Katsina State on Sunday, June 16.

A statement issued by Mallam Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying, “I use this occasion to make an appeal to all citizens to make Nigeria self-reliant. Let us grow our own food. We have shown that we can do it. This is not the time to relent when we see prices going up.

Let us buy what is produced in the country. The foundation of a prosperous and stable country has been laid by successive governments, and I encourage our youth, in particular, to continue to play an active role in various nation-building efforts.

I urge the youth of the country to seek to know about the founding fathers of the nation, the important personalities of their regions, and derive inspiration from them.”

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