A major M&A week sees Sysco acquiring Restaurant Depot for $26 billion and McCormick merging with Unilever's food division for $44 billion, while Eli Lilly acquires Centessa Pharmaceuticals for $7.8 billion. The podcast discusses the track record of consumer brand mergers (mostly unsuccessful) and analyzes Whirlpool as a dividend investment amid housing market headwinds.

Iran's President declared readiness to end hostilities, triggering a market rally. WTI crude oil fell 2% to $100/barrel, while the Nasdaq 100 surged 3.2%. Airlines, clean energy, and growth stocks led gains, with the top 10 mega-cap tech and semiconductor companies generating nearly $950 billion in market cap gains.

Moderna stock has surged over 70% since the start of 2026, driven by its expanding pipeline beyond its coronavirus vaccine. The biotech company is commercializing RSV and flu vaccines, advancing cancer vaccine candidates, and pursuing oncology treatments. However, with 2025 revenue of $1.9 billion and a $2.8 billion net loss, the analyst suggests waiting for a dip before investing, as the stock may have advanced too quickly.

Pfizer and Moderna, both pandemic-era vaccine leaders, face declining COVID vaccine sales but are pursuing new product pipelines. Moderna offers higher upside potential with its mRNA-based cancer and flu vaccines, having gained 69% this year, but carries significant downside risk. Pfizer, the larger and more stable company with a 6.3% dividend yield, provides lower volatility and financial flexibility to weather setbacks. The choice depends on investor risk tolerance.

CytomX Therapeutics priced a $250 million underwritten public offering of 45.99 million shares at $5.30 per share and pre-funded warrants. The company plans to use net proceeds for development of Varseta-M and other pipeline programs. The offering is expected to close on March 19, 2026.

The article compares two small-cap value ETFs: Vanguard's VBR and iShares' ISCV. Both offer affordable exposure to U.S. small-cap value stocks with nearly identical expense ratios (0.05% vs 0.06%). VBR has significantly larger assets ($62.3B vs $594.6M), lower maximum drawdown, and better liquidity, while ISCV offers slightly higher yield (2.0% vs 1.9%) and better one-year performance (18.3% vs 17.9%). The choice depends on investor priorities regarding liquidity, yield, and sector exposure.

BioNTech shares fell 14.25% in premarket trading after co-founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci announced plans to transition to a new mRNA venture by end of 2026. The company also lowered 2026 sales guidance to $2.33-$2.68 billion due to declining COVID-19 vaccine demand, though it expects multiple late-stage oncology data readouts in 2026.

Moderna settled a long-running legal dispute over COVID-19 vaccine technology, paying $2.25 billion to Roivant Sciences' Genevant unit and Arbutus Biopharma—less than the $3 billion expected. While Moderna stock surged 15.99% on the news, analysts suggest it now trades 22% above fair value after a 108% six-month rally. The article identifies 9 biotech stocks trading 27.6% to 64.6% below fair value with potential upside of 31.6% to 251.4%.

Moderna reached a $950 million settlement agreement with Arbutus Biopharma and Roivant's Genevant Sciences, resolving litigation related to its COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax and mRESVIA product. The settlement clears a major legal overhang, allowing the company to focus on future growth. Moderna expects to end 2026 with $4.5-5 billion in cash and aims for breakeven in 2028. The stock surged 8.85% in premarket trading as the settlement value was better than investors' worst-case fears.

Moderna faces a transition period as it shifts from pandemic-era coronavirus vaccine dominance to building a seasonal vaccine franchise and expanding into oncology and rare diseases. While the company recently received FDA approval to review its flu vaccine candidate after an initial rejection, it continues to navigate declining vaccine sales and reduced government funding. The stock surged 50% in January on turnaround optimism, and the company expects seasonal vaccine growth to drive cash breakeven by 2028.

Ten large-cap stocks were top performers last week, with First Majestic Silver leading gains at 25.23% following better-than-expected Q4 results. Other notable gainers include Moderna (19.68%) on FDA seasonal flu vaccine review news, Global Payments (19.52%) with strong Q4 earnings and a $2.6B buyback authorization, and Coinbase (11.32%). Companies like Omnicom, Garmin, Figma, and Pan American Silver also reported strong quarterly results and positive guidance.

Billionaire Philippe Laffont, founder of Coatue Management, sold his entire CoreWeave position in Q4 2025 after gaining approximately 80% returns since the company's IPO in March 2025. Simultaneously, he opened a small position in Moderna by purchasing 200,000 shares. Moderna stock surged nearly 50% in January 2026 as the biotech company pivots toward long-term growth through its respiratory vaccine franchise and pipeline candidates in oncology and rare diseases.