Cardiol Therapeutics, Bayer, Coinbase - Which share will generate profits in the long term?

Hope for heart patients: CardiolRx™ by Cardiol Therapeutics on the path to approval

Anyone who resumes sport too soon after a severe cold knows the discomfort: shortness of breath, chest pain, and reduced performance. Respiratory illnesses often lead to cardiovascular diseases. When the heart is affected, there is a high risk of long-term complications. The human heart is the body's powerhouse, beating around 100,000 times a day (equivalent to about 3 billion beats in a lifetime) and pumping around 5.7 litres of blood through the entire body. Recently, there has been a rising incidence of heart disease, especially among individuals under 35 years old. Treatment in the US is often associated with costly hospital stays. Thanks to a Canadian life sciences company, an orally administered drug, CardiolRx™, is on the verge of a breakthrough.

Cardiol Therapeutics cardiolrx.com/investors/events-presentations is a life sciences company based in Toronto, Canada, specializing in the research and clinical development of anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic therapies for the treatment of heart disease. The Company's lead drug, CardiolRx™, is in clinical development for the treatment of heart disease. CardiolRx™ targets multiple inflammatory signaling pathways, including inhibition of activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which plays an important role in inflammation and fibrosis in pericarditis, myocarditis, and heart failure. The experienced team at Cardiol Therapeutics is currently focusing on three main areas of research in heart disease:

Recurrent pericarditis (Phase II MAvERIC-Pilot Study): This disease, characterized by inflammation of the pericardium, poses a significant burden for those affected and urgently requires new treatment options. Patient enrollment has reached 100% and results from this Phase II are expected in Q2/24, with plans to move directly into Phase III thereafter. CardiolRx™ received FDA Orphan Drug Designation and is expected to be launched on the market as an Orphan Drug. This designation entails 7 years of exclusivity in the US and 10 years in Europe.
Acute myocarditis (Phase II ARCHER Study): Due to the increasing prevalence of myocarditis, a still devastating and debilitating disease that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in individuals under the age of 35, this study, is gaining significant importance. There are no FDA-approved therapies for acute myocarditis. Patient enrollment has exceeded 50% and full enrollment is expected in Q3/24.

Heart failure: While the above-mentioned cardiology programs are progressing, Cardiol Therapeutics is also developing a new drug for the treatment of heart failure. This disease is one of the greatest medical challenges of our time and affects around 26 million people in developed countries worldwide. Cardiol Therapeutics is expanding its intellectual property in this area, further enhancing the Company's value.

Thanks to strong collaborations and a well-funded pipeline, Cardiol Therapeutics is well-positioned to achieve significant progress in 2024 and advance innovative therapies for life-threatening heart conditions.

Bayer in Roundup label debt: 50,000 Monsanto lawsuits still pending

Bayer has requested the entire Eleventh US Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider, for a second time, a three-judge panel's ruling that the Company must defend a lawsuit by a Georgia doctor who claims the Company's Roundup weedkiller caused him cancer.

The request is the Company's latest attempt to protect itself from Roundup-related lawsuits by invoking the legal doctrine of supremacy, under which federal law trumps or supersedes state law. Bayer argues that the US Environmental Protection Agency's approval of Roundup's label without a cancer warning blocks any claims that the Company violated state law by failing to warn of the cancer risk. Bayer insists Roundup is safe and does not cause cancer.

A three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument for the second time earlier this month after previously being asked by the full court to reconsider the case. Several other appeals courts have reached the same conclusion in similar lawsuits.

Roundup-related lawsuits have dogged Bayer since it acquired the brand as part of its USD 63 billion deal with Monsanto in 2018. The Company has settled most Roundup lawsuits in 2020 for up to USD 10.9 billion. However, Bayer still faces around 50,000 outstanding lawsuits over the product.

David Carson, the plaintiff in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals case, alleges in his lawsuit that he was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 after 30 years of using Roundup. The panel stood by its original conclusion, ruling on February 4 that Bayer could have asked the EPA to add a cancer warning to comply with the law, which Carson requested, but it never did.

Bayer has won 10 of the last 16 lawsuits over Roundup. But in the cases it has lost, it has been hit with more than USD 4 billion in jury verdicts since last October. Some of those verdicts are likely to be reduced on appeal because they exceed the US Supreme Court's guidelines on punitive damages.

The losses have caused some investors to question Bayer's legal strategy regarding the Roundup cases.

Coinbase and Bitcoin: A profit-maximizing connection?

Coinbase shares rose 4.3% to USD 207.68 on Wednesday. The share has gained 62% in February alone. The digital currency trading platform generates revenue through fees on the purchase and sale of tokens. A token is a digital asset in the world of cryptos. The Coinbase share tends to trade largely in parallel with Bitcoin (BTC). BTC is one of the most well-known and oldest cryptocurrencies.

Alesia Haas, CFO of Coinbase, explains in the Company's Q4/2023 quarterly results that lower crypto prices and volatility were seen at the beginning of the quarter, but these increased by around 40% and 60% respectively by the end of the quarter. "These increases were mainly driven by excitement over the approval of Bitcoin ETFs and general market expectations of an improved macroeconomic situation in 2024," adds Haas.

For the full year, the Company generated a net income of USD 95 million and positive adjusted EBITDA in all four quarters, totaling nearly USD 1 billion. The full-year revenue base of USD 3.1 billion in 2023 was diversified by USD 1.4 billion in subscription and service revenue. At the same time, the Company strengthened its balance sheet by increasing its total USD resources to USD 5.7 billion and reducing total debt by 12%.

Coinbase said in a post on X that the crypto exchange was struggling with a sharp increase in traffic. This has led to partial software outages this week. Users saw a "zero" on their account balance instead of the actual amount. "In very few cases, customers may still see an inaccurate account balance. Our team is working to resolve this display issue for these users." The outage came after Bitcoin hit the USD 60,000 mark on Wednesday for the first time in over two years. A flow of capital into new exchange-traded products for spot Bitcoin in the US fueled a price rally in February.

In 2024, Coinbase will focus on three main priorities:

1. Revenue growth through core trading
2. Increasing crypto utility through experimentation with USDC and Base in payments
3. Continued commitment to regulatory clarity in the industry

Cardiol Therapeutics, specializing in anti-inflammatory therapies for common heart diseases such as heart failure, recurrent pericarditis and acute myocarditis, offers new hope to heart patients with CardiolRx™, an oral cannabidiol-based drug in clinical development. CardiolRx™ has the potential to be approved as an Orphan Drug, providing seven years of market exclusivity in the US and 10 years in Europe. Bayer faces challenges due to ongoing Roundup lawsuits, with around 50,000 still pending. The bottom does not yet appear to have been reached here, and the share offers the potential to climb upward again in the coming years. With a clear focus on revenue growth, crypto utility and regulatory clarity, Coinbase appears well-positioned to expand further in 2024. The stock gained 62% in growth in February alone but is strongly linked to the success and failure of the best-known cryptocurrencies. Whether providing help for heart patients as a standout USP, being a diversified company in Consumer Health, Pharma, and Agriculture, or serving as a cryptocurrency trading platform - for long-term gains, it is advisable to delve deeper into all three companies.