Now, most investment advisors will tell you to buy low, sell high. Perfectly sensible, of course. But sometimes, just sometimes, a perfectly good upward trajectory is worth hitching a ride on. It’s a bit like waiting for the dragon to land before deciding if it’s a good idea to offer it tea. Risky, certainly, but potentially rewarding. We’ve been observing two such cases: Walmart (WMT +0.69%) and Moderna (MRNA 5.78%). Both have been doing… reasonably well, let’s say. The question isn’t where they’ve been, but whether they have a bit more puff left in their scales.
1. Walmart: The Ever-Present Emporium
Walmart, you see, has mastered the art of being… there. Like a particularly persistent rumour, or a tax collector. It’s weathered storms – tariff-related headwinds, the general discontent of shoppers facing rising costs – with a surprising degree of stoicism. They’ve done this, largely, by offering things at prices that make people think twice about making things themselves. Which, let’s be honest, is a very powerful force in any economy. It’s a simple principle, really: people like bargains. It’s why alchemy never really took off – too much effort for a slightly shinier pebble.
And they’re not just a bricks-and-mortar operation, either. They’ve dipped a toe (and increasingly, a whole leg) into the digital realm, offering lower prices online than most. It’s a bit like a goblin offering you a discount on cursed artifacts – you know there’s a catch, but the price is awfully tempting.
Will Walmart continue to perform as well this year? Predicting the future is a fool’s errand, best left to astrologers and economists. But the long-term prospects are… interesting. A deep network of stores, the ability to strong-arm suppliers into offering ridiculously low prices (it’s a gift, really), and a willingness to embrace new technologies, including those suspiciously intelligent automatons they call “artificial intelligence,” all suggest a potential for continued success. They’re building a retail empire, one slightly discounted widget at a time.
And then there’s the dividend. Walmart is a “Dividend King” – a rather pompous title, if you ask me, but effective. They’ve been increasing their payouts for over 50 years. Which is a bit like a dragon consistently offering you a small, but reliable, stream of gold. You wouldn’t necessarily bet your kingdom on it, but it’s nice to have.
2. Moderna: The Alchemist’s Laboratory
Is this the year Moderna finally manages to turn lead into gold? Well, not literally, of course. They’ve been struggling with declining sales of their coronavirus vaccine – a rather unfortunate turn of events, given the initial hype. But they’ve been tinkering away in their laboratories, making progress with clinical trials and regulatory approvals. They seem to be inching closer to launching something… significant.
Their investigational personalized cancer vaccine, mRNA-4157, has shown promising results in preventing recurrence or death in melanoma patients when combined with Merck‘s Keytruda. It’s a bit like a potion that doesn’t quite cure the illness, but does a remarkably good job of keeping it at bay. The details are, naturally, complex and involve a lot of jargon about messenger RNA and immune responses. Suffice it to say, it’s complicated.1
mRNA-4157 is currently undergoing further trials, and could potentially gain approval within the next couple of years. And beyond this, Moderna’s mRNA platform looks… promising. They’re hoping to launch several new vaccines over the next five years, which should, in theory, improve their financial results. It’s a gamble, of course. But sometimes, a little bit of alchemy is worth the risk.
The stock is already up a considerable amount this year – a remarkable achievement, considering the challenges they’ve faced. Whether they can maintain this momentum remains to be seen. But their innovation could lead to key approvals and drive revenue growth in the medium term. It’s a long shot, perhaps. But sometimes, the most improbable journeys are the most rewarding.
1 The specifics involve manipulating the body’s own cellular machinery to produce proteins that trigger an immune response. Think of it as teaching your body to fight off the enemy from within. It’s a bit like training a miniature army of cellular warriors. It’s also remarkably difficult, and requires a lot of very clever people with very expensive equipment.
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2026-03-04 17:12