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The Next Bitcoin Halving: What it Means for Investors – Morningstar

Posted: March 27, 2024 at 2:44 am

All eyes of the crypto community are on the next bitcoin halving, scheduled for mid-April.

This event, which occurs roughly every four years, is the fourth in the history of bitcoin and means that the miners' reward, following the approval of new blocks added to the blockchain, will fall by half. This will reduce the frequency of new BTC injected into the system, as the total amount of mined bitcoin edges closer to the maximum threshold of 21 million circulating units.

The first halving took place on 28 November 2012, after the first 210,000 blocks had been drawn. On that occasion, the reward was reduced to 25 coins per new block. After a further 210,000 blocks the reward fell to 12.5 bitcoins on 9 July 2016, and to 6.25 on 12 May 2020. With the upcoming halving it will fall from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. This continues until 2140, when after the final halving, all 21 million tokens will be in circulation.

By reducing the reward for creating new blocks on the blockchain an expensive process requiring energy-hungry computers the incentive to produce new Bitcoins is theoretically reduced. Halving, therefore, has historically triggered supply shocks that, in turn, have generated greater interest and speculation within the crypto community.

Generally, halving seems to have triggered price increases in the past. According to research by crypto tax consultancy CoinLedger in the six months following the last two halvings, the value of BTC increased by 51% and 83% respectively. Of course, the value of Bitcoin in those days was far from what it is today: At the 2016 halving, one BTC was worth $650 and in 2020, $8,572.

The current market dynamics in which the halving will take place are unique in the history of cryptocurrency, prompting a reassessment of its potential impacts, according to a study published last week by the research team of 21Shares, the first issuer of ETPs on crypto in Europe.

The researchers said that the four-year halving effect gradually diminished over time, with each successive event leading to a decrease in growth rates in the value of bitcoin. For example, BTC surged about 5,500% in the four years following the first halving, by about 1,250% in the cycle following the second halving and by roughly 700% in the current cycle. This suggests an increasing maturity of the market.

Also, bitcoin is currently soaring close to its all-time high, whereas during past halvings it has traded 40% to 50% below prior highs.

One wild card in the current cycle has been the launch of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products. "BTC spot ETFs demonstrated staggering trading volumes, signaling significant interest from traditional investors by reaching a new all-time high of over $1 billion of inflows in a single day on March 13, 2024," 21Shares said.

Read more: Can I Buy a Bitcoin ETF in the UK?

Finally, the study's authors claim that the entry of institutional players is changing the overall 'habits' of bitcoin investors, with long-term holders becoming increasingly important and the amount of bitcoin held on exchanges at a five-year low.

If this trend were to persist, bitcoin's supply would become increasingly illiquid, setting the stage for a supply squeeze and consequently a potential sharp rise in price, say the analysts.

21Shares is, unsurprisingly, striking an optimistic tone on bitcoin. What seems certain, however, is that current supply and demand dynamics are very different from those of the past.

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The Next Bitcoin Halving: What it Means for Investors - Morningstar

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Biotechnology CEO and inventor of SiriusXM Satellite Radio Martine Rothblatt to deliver graduation address to the … – EurekAlert

Posted: March 27, 2024 at 2:42 am

image:

Martine Rothblatt PhD, JD, MBA, Chairperson and CEO of United Therapeuticsand inventor of SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

Credit: United Therapeutics Corporation

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) DeanMark T. Gladwin, MD, announced today thatMartine Rothblatt PhD, JD, MBA, Chairperson and CEO of United Therapeutics, and inventor of SiriusXM Satellite Radio, will deliver the keynote address for this years graduating medical student class. The UMSOM MD graduation ceremony will take place at the Hippodrome Theatre on Thursday, May 16, 2024.The ceremony will begin at 1:00 pm. Details for faculty members arehere. Details for students/guests arehere.

Dr. Rothblatt is a trailblazing pioneer of several innovations in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and satellite communications. After developing SiriusXM, she founded United Therapeutics, in an effort to find a cure for her daughters life-threatening illness, pulmonary arterial hypertension. Under Dr. Rothblatts leadership, United Therapeutics, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, has become a large biotech company focused on engineering cell biology to develop new therapeutics and manufactured transplantable organs. Its monoclonal antibody has been approved to treat neuroblastoma, and its genetically modified pig hearts and kidneys were the first to be transplants into humans.

The biotech company funded and helped establish the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which led to the worlds first two transplants of genetically-modified pig organs into living patients. Both patients were transplanted with pig hearts to treat their terminal heart failure and lived for more than a month.

The historic procedures were performed at the University of Maryland Medical Center byBartley Griffith, MD, Professor of Surgery and The Thomas E. and Alice Marie Hales Distinguished Professor in Transplantation at UMSOM andMuhammad M. Mohiuddin, MD, Professor of Surgery and Scientific/Program Director of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program at UMSOM.

We are thrilled to have Dr. Rothblatt address this distinguished class of up-and-coming physicians, said Dr. Gladwin who is the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of UMSOM, and Vice President for Medical Affairs at University of Maryland, Baltimore.Her contributions and groundbreaking developments in addressing lung disease, cancer, and the chronic organ shortage have had an immeasurable impact on the field of medicine. Shes a role model for our medical students, demonstrating that if you have the will to have a substantial impact, you can make it happen.

An attorney-entrepreneur, Dr. Rothblatt is a tireless advocate for human rights. In 1992, she led the International Bar Associations efforts in drafting the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights and has been a leading advocate for transgender acceptance. For her impacts in satellite communications, she was elected to the International Institute of Space Law and has represented the radio astronomy communitys scientific interests before the Federal Communications Commission.

Celebrated as a visionary, thought leader, and published author, Dr. Rothblatt is named One of 100 Greatest Living Business Minds byForbesand Most Powerful LGBTQ+ People in Tech byBusiness Insider.Her pioneering book,Your Life or Mine: How Geoethics Can Resolve the Conflict Between Private and Public Interests in Xenotransplantation, anticipated the need for global virus bio-surveillance and an expanded supply of transplantable organs. She is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maryland Tech Council.

Dr. Rothblatt is currently the inventor and co-inventor on nine U.S. patents, with additional applications pending.

She earned her PhD in Medical Ethics with a thesis in xenotransplantation from the Royal London College of Medicine and Dentistry and earned her JD and MBA from UCLA. She also studied astronomy at the University of Maryland College Park.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $500 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the8th highestamong public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latestU.S. News & World Reportranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2023, the UM School of Medicine isranked #10 among the 92 public medical schoolsin the U.S., and in the top 16 percent(#32) of all 192 public and privateU.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visitmedschool.umaryland.edu

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Biotechnology CEO and inventor of SiriusXM Satellite Radio Martine Rothblatt to deliver graduation address to the ... - EurekAlert

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Branched chemically modified poly(A) tails enhance the translation capacity of mRNA – Nature.com

Posted: March 27, 2024 at 2:42 am

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Branched chemically modified poly(A) tails enhance the translation capacity of mRNA - Nature.com

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Ambition and urgency: Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU – EURACTIV

Posted: March 27, 2024 at 2:42 am

The Initiative Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU offers the promise, although not yet the commitment, for biotechnology in the EU at the scale and vision needed for global significance. EuropaBio looks inside and to the future.

Dr Claire Skentelbery is the Director General of EuropaBio.

Ambition, vision and urgency are the calls from EuropaBio for this promising initiative. The next Commission must combine long-term vision and bold ambitions with immediate and urgent attention to resolve existing barriers to growth. The world is accelerating industrial outputs from biotechnology, and we need to move with it. EuropaBio will be a partner and champion every step of the way to deliver Europes biotech future. Dr Claire Skentelbery, Director General of EuropaBio.

Europe welcomed the Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative on March 20. It brought recognition from the EU that biotechnology is one of the major global technologies shaping our health, food, and providing an industrial footprint with innovation, sustainability and resilience. The Initiative also recognizes the main bottlenecks, regulatory fragmentation, access to finance, value chain obstacles and informed public recognition.

Finally, it recognised the economic footprint of biotechnology and its vital role within a globally competitive region. Between 2008 2021, employment growth from biotech was seven times higher than Europes average, Gross Value Added grew 1.5 times as quickly, and productivity was 2.5 times higher. Europes research has thrived within biotechnology, creating thousands of start-ups, and enabling companies of all sizes to mature economic and societal value.

Let us not be modest about what biotech achieves. Healthcare biotechnology is becoming the primary source of new therapies, bringing previously untreatable diseases within reach, and transitioning from manage to cure with increasing frequency, freeing patients, families and healthcare systems.

Industrial Biotechnology holds the key to sustainable and innovative manufacturing, delivering novel products and more sustainable replacements, reducing reliance on fossil resources including energy, relieving pressure on ecosystems and strengthening supply chains, including food production, which are essential as the world aims to both ameliorate and adapt to climate change.

From Initiative to implementation

This is not the first policy roadshow for biotechnology in Europe. Way back in 2007, the Lead Market Initiative opened with the statement Developing an innovation-driven economy is crucial for competitiveness and in 2024, whilst biotech is showing its commercial speed, the EU lags other global regions for biotech performance.

This Initiative, released in the closing days of the current Commission has to take root, grow and flower quickly. It must rapidly transform rhetoric into policy and legislation action for competitiveness, enabling innovators to thrive, and creating long-term investment into infrastructures, employment, and skills in Europe. The ambition for a Biotech Act is laudable, but there is urgency for action now. Reports tomorrow are not a substitute for progress today.

A global game is Europe a player?

Europe is late to the game in recognizing and utilising biotechnology and biomanufacturing. EuropaBio has watched global regions publish comprehensive, funded, time and target-driven strategies, with the US, China, Japan, India and the UK building from their strong science foundations. The winners of this global race for biotechnology will hold primary market positions for novel medicines, resilient local manufacturing, and global supply chains, all underpinned by high value, high employment and high skills technology. It is essential that the EU is in this race to be a player rather than a customer.

The Initiative acknowledges the importance of global dialogue, shaping biotechnology above Europe. The WHO, WTO, Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, as well as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework are all part of a harmonised global framework for biotechnology where the EC must have a clear voice.

Call it by its name

The Initiative directly references important applications and components of biotechnology; food and feed, environmental remediation, novel and alternative molecules for application across processes and sectors, advanced healthcare, with terminology including microorganisms, enzymes, mRNA, ATMPs, biorefineries, and bio-based products. This needs to continue and expand (fermentation is notable by its absence) as part of the visibility and recognition of biotechnology for all stakeholders, including policymakers at national and European level and the citizens whom benefits already reach.

Legislation for biotechnology innovation today

Recognising biotechnology innovation should be integral to our own legislative DNA, and yet at EU and Member State levels, we are already tying our own shoelaces together:

Built for biotechnology, built for Europe

The Initiative rightly identifies regulation as a critical component for economic and societal success of such a cross-cutting frontier technology. Complex, uncertain and opaque regulatory pathways create a market pathway too slow, costly and vague for investment.

Europe needs a future-looking and cross-cutting framework built for biotechnology, recognising its unique requirements and not retrofitting its systems built for chemistry, and streamlining and removing obstacles in existing regulations.

The introduction of regulatory sandboxes and simplified, accelerated pathways to market recognising the parameters of biotechnology are core to this. Regulation must mature alongside innovation and is part of successful industrial growth from Europes strong research base. An EU Biotech Hub will also provide welcome additional support for companies in navigating the complex and often overwhelming regulatory framework in all sectors.

The Initiative importantly identifies regulatory obstacles that arise at national or other governance levels which impede an effective single market which is urgent to address now. As the Enrico Letta report comes closer to publication, there is a risk of single market fragmentation for biotechnology products and processes through lack of coherence across the EC and MS. This represents an opportunity for Europe to lead global coherence for biotechnology.

Beyond regulations, the proposed Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) review brings a much needed focus on the sustainability benefits from products through the assessment of fossil-based and bio-based products to ensure equivalence. Biomass is another vital conversation for Europe as part of the initiative, with a fundamental need for sustainable, including primary, biomass. This creates a pathway for delivery for biotechnology throughout the value chain, from innovation to market and consumer.

A framework for finance

The Initiative addresses finance but must be more ambitious for investment growth, particularly for scale up and technology maturation to market, and it must also be explicit and vocal on technologies that it seeks to champion if the EU is to lead informed and engaged public narrative. Europes investment landscape is more fragmented and conservative than other regions.

Improving the investment landscape to enable the creation, financing, and maturation of European biotech companies will contribute to the restoration of the innovation ecosystem but also other industries. The easier emerging and small biotech will find it to secure investment and partners in Europe, the more likely they will be to stay and grow in Europe.

EuropaBio will be a travelling partner for the Initiative, from its promising early days to its delivery through legislation and implementation, with success measure in ambitions achieved and benefits measured for people and planet.

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Ambition and urgency: Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU - EURACTIV

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Veterinary scene down under: Australian animal biotechnology company wins 2024 Pet Care Inno-vation Prize, and … – DVM 360

Posted: March 27, 2024 at 2:42 am

Shining a light on the illegal wildlife trade

Cameron Murray, BSc, BVMS, working with wildlife in Africa (Image Courtesy of Cameron Murray)

Away from the 4 small animal veterinary practices he co-owns, Cameron Murray, BSc, BVMS, has a strong interest in wildlife conservation. Starting with his involvement with SAVE African Rhino Foundation he is now also a director of the charity organization Nature Needs More, which is focused on demand reduction projects to diminish the illegal global wildlife trade.

Murrays passion for wildlife conservation has led him to playing a vital role in raising awareness of wildlife trafficking and educating veterinarians about how they can help make a difference. Nature Needs More works on tackling the key systemic enablers of the illegal wildlife trade, including consumer demand for wildlife products and the deficiencies in the legal trade system under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

To give an understanding of the scale of the wildlife trade on a global basis, legal trade is currently estimated to be worth as much as USD$260-320 billion annually and if you include illegal trade this may be as high as USD$500 billion. The legal trade is monitored, regulated and managed, however that the legal and illegal trade are currently functionally inseparable, and until steps are taken to modernize the management of legal trade, the issue of illegal trade will remain an unwinnable battle, Murray explained to dvm360. Through Nature Needs More, were advocating for a program of modernization of CITES. This is because the landmark Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report of 2019, suggested that 1 million species in the world face extinction, and that direct exploitation through trade was the biggest single threat to marine species and the second largest behind habitat loss for terrestrial and fresh water species.1

Analysis of CITES wildlife trade records and published literature has revealed massive numbers of animals are traded live every year, with many presumably destined for the exotic pet market. These records highlight the staggering numbers of species caught up in the global wildlife trade, with over 500 species of birdapproximately half of which are parrots, almost 500 species of reptilemostly turtles, lizards and snakes, and over 100 species of mammalmostly carnivores and primates, said Murray. For Australia this has particular relevance for our reptiles, which can be relatively easily smuggled. Sadly, smuggling Australian native species is considered a low-risk crime and there is significant financial motivation for criminals to illegally export Australian wildlife for the overseas exotic pet trade.

fieldofvision/stock.adobe.com

A 2021 report compiled Australian seizure data and international online trade data pertaining to shingleback lizards, found that all 4 subspecies were involved in illegal trade.2 This is important as 2 of these shingleback subspecies come from very limited ranges and populations. As such, a trade of this nature poses a real threat to species survival and biodiversity loss. All of us should be concerned with regard to the issues of biodiversity loss but in addition, the trade in wildlife also raises issues around animal welfare, zoonotic disease spread, biosecurity issues and more, Murray said.

Veterinarians can play an important role by having a stronger voice for change in the trade of wildlife, and as veterinarians we are well placed to play a stronger lead in the area. We should also be aware of the fact that there is active poaching of native species and be vigilant to this possibility. We also have an opportunity to see that penalties associated with wildlife crime are more of a deterrent and finally, I would encourage everyone to look behind the management systems of wildlife trade and consider joining me in advocating for a modernization of CITES, Murray added.

After working as a veterinarian for almost a decade, Peter Lau, BSc (Hons), BVMS, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, changed his focus and graduated in human medicine in 2007 before becoming a specialist medical oncologist. Currently based at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth, Lau and his colleagues Jonas Nilsson PhD, and Zlatibor Velickovic, PhD, are now at the forefront of cancer research in Australia with cellular immunotherapy for human melanoma patients.

Cell therapy using Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) involves surgically removing a patients melanoma deposit, extracting out the T cells or lymphocytes which act against the cancer. We then grow those cells in a specialized laboratory expanding them to extremely high numbers in the order of billions. Patients are admitted into hospital, receive chemotherapy and then are injected with the TIL treatment which destroys the tumor. The technology for cellular immunotherapy was developed in Europe and the US but is not currently available in Australia. Our recent grant funding will go towards manufacturing this treatment for the first time in Australia, Lau explained exclusively to dvm360.

For decades metastatic melanoma has been a terrible cancer to treat but with immunotherapy such as pembrolizumab we can now literally save lives. These conventional immunotherapies dont work in all patients hence the need for new treatments like cell therapy. We do have a way to go in terms of curing everyone from the disease but cell therapy research like this can help close that gap. Its very satisfying to be at the forefront of treatment and cancer research.

Although Lau no longer works as a clinical veterinarian, he credits his early career in the veterinary profession with setting him up for success in the adjacent field of human medicine. My interest in immunology started a number of years ago listening to a talk from professor [Peter Doherty, PhD] at an Australian Veterinary Association Conference many years ago. Professor Doherty originally trained as a veterinarian and made key discoveries in how the immune system recognizes cells infected with viruses which led to a Nobel Prize. It was quiet an inspirational talk and I ended up in medicine as a result. Vet training did teach me a lot about persistence which is really needed with research, Lau said. Canine melanoma is also treated with similar drugs as we use in humans so its quite nice to see the benefit of these immunotherapies for our 4-legged friends.

VetChip, an Australian animal biotechnology company, won the 2024 Pet Care Innovation Prize, earning a cash prize and support from Purina. VetChip was 1 of 5 pet care startups from across the world that pitched their businesses to pet industry influencers and investors at the recent Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida.

The biotechnology company is dedicated to improving animal health and welfare through pioneering technology that monitors, analyses, and detects pet health issues. VetChip cofounder and veterinarian Garnett Hall, BVSc (Hons), travelled to the US for the event.

Garnett Hall, BVSc (Hons),VetChip co-founder (Image courtesy of VetChip)

"The VetChip team and I are extremely grateful for the support we have received from Purina through the Pet Care Innovation Prize. Developing technology like ours is incredibly difficult, and partnerships with leading animal health and technology companies are essential for us, said Hall exclusively to dvm360.

2024 is off to a great start, and the remainder of this year will see us commence pre-commercial trials in several of our key markets. I am looking forward to using our technology to improve the health, welfare and performance of military dogs and and performance horses before the end of the yearmore to announce soon.

VetChip has developed an innovative implantable smart microchip for animals that can monitor the animals temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and tissue oxygenation. VetChip has many applications, including in companion animal practice, for primary producers enabling better herd health management, and for in equestrian sports and horse-racing.

References

See the article here:
Veterinary scene down under: Australian animal biotechnology company wins 2024 Pet Care Inno-vation Prize, and ... - DVM 360

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Investor Optimism Abounds Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (HKG:6955) But Growth Is Lacking – Simply Wall St

Posted: March 27, 2024 at 2:42 am

With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 9x in the Biotechs industry in Hong Kong, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:6955) P/S ratio of 7.7x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.

View our latest analysis for Shandong Boan Biotechnology

Shandong Boan Biotechnology could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is moderate because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance will turn around. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Shandong Boan Biotechnology's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 20% last year. Still, revenue has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 40% per annum as estimated by the only analyst watching the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 69% growth per annum, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

With this in mind, we find it intriguing that Shandong Boan Biotechnology's P/S is closely matching its industry peers. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

Given that Shandong Boan Biotechnology's revenue growth projections are relatively subdued in comparison to the wider industry, it comes as a surprise to see it trading at its current P/S ratio. When we see companies with a relatively weaker revenue outlook compared to the industry, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/S lower. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Shandong Boan Biotechnology has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

Find out whether Shandong Boan Biotechnology is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Investor Optimism Abounds Shandong Boan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (HKG:6955) But Growth Is Lacking - Simply Wall St

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith


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