Varta, Sierra Growth, CureVac - Clear signals!

Sierra Growth - Rocket launch

An interesting story is the newly founded mineral oil exploration Company Sierra Growth, searching for metals silver, copper, gold, and molybdenum. The Canadian Company has focused on exploring projects in the Andean nation of Peru and primarily on three mineral properties in central and western Nevada. The properties are owned by experienced rights holders with a proven track record of exploration in Nevada and all share the same characteristics. Significant preliminary work has been done in the past, but this has generally been limited to surface or near-surface exploration, leaving much exploration potential, particularly at depth. To this end, excellent infrastructure is in place: Power, water, and utilities are available nearby in local mining towns. Because of this, all three properties can be brought to drill-ready status relatively quickly.

The Company announced successful prospect evaluations in the middle of last week. They were so encouraging that management believes that the subsequent phases of exploration will delineate high-quality exploration targets. The package of prospects has excellent potential for the discovery of a significant mineral deposit. Grab samples at the Mildred concession mine area detected 26.6 g/t gold and 78.6 g/t silver and elsewhere detected 667 g/t silver and 0.41 g/t gold. Values of 646 g/t silver and 0.53 g/t gold were also found in the Betty East mine area. Sierra Growth's shares are traded in Frankfurt as well as Toronto. Due to the management experience, the Company can be expected to do well in the long term. However, the development is only at the beginning.

CureVac - Off to Switzerland

CureVac had already started the rolling approval process for the vaccine candidate at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in February and expects approval for the EU in June, depending on the clinical data. Now, the Tübingen-based German pharmaceutical Company has started a rolling approval process for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in Switzerland. The marketing authorization application has been submitted to Swissmedic, the drug agency, according to the Company. The rolling review process is an expedited process in which necessary data can be submitted and reviewed as it becomes available to shorten the time to approval.

The duration of the rolling review process depends on the completeness of data submitted by CureVac and the results of the clinical trials, according to Swissmedic.
So far, vaccines from BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have been approved in Switzerland. An application for approval from AstraZeneca is also currently under review by Swissmedic. In early February, the Swiss government had signed a contract with CureVac for the supply of 5 million vaccine doses. This contract is based on the supply agreement between the European Commission and the Company.

Varta - Full in six minutes!

In the past, six minutes was the time it took for a well-poured draft beer. Now the Varta cell 21700 is to be completely charged and discharged in the same time. So far, this would be unique on the market and is expected to significantly impact the Company's sales and profit development in the future. Thus, according to Varta CEO Herbert Schein, the new 21700 cell could add a third business segment. In 2024, Varta plans to produce between 100 and 200 million 21700 battery cells per year. The 21700 battery cell will initially be used primarily in high-performance electric cars. However, the key difference between this and other battery cells on the market is that the 21700 format battery cell, i.e. 2.1 cm in diameter and 7 cm long, will not be used as the sole traction battery. Instead, Varta is aiming to use it as a booster in premium and sports vehicles. Varta's share price does not currently reflect the Company's positive outlook. Further price losses towards EUR 100 could follow a drop below the current support zone at EUR 120.