Happy Friday! I’m off back to Italy tonight. New York’s been a hoot, but I’m glad to be heading back home.

On Wednesday, I said in passing to my class, “My buddy Ray Blanco is shooting the lights out. Watch ASTS. He told me about it when it was trading at $2.50.”

Yesterday after lunch, one of my delegates – we don’t call them “students” – said, “Sean, have you seen ASTS?”

I said, “No. I didn’t get to my phone yet.”

“It’s up 25%!” he happily shouted.

I love getting morning wood in the early afternoon.

Sure enough, ASTS had rallied hard to $16.64, up 25% or so. This significant increase in value is a testament to the company's potential and the accuracy of Ray's predictions.

I hope you’re participating. Ray and I had a great conversation on July 17th that I hope you listened to.

If not, feel free to click on that big picture or this link to watch it now!

Biotech continues to show strength, with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE: XBI) moving higher this week.

The small cap-rich biotech ETF makes a strong move this week, pushing up against 52-week highs, and resistance.

We’re on the verge of a breakout, which I am watching carefully for a potential trade.

(Sean’s note: from a chart perspective, if we break above $104, the next level is $124.)

But general strength in bios won’t explain Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) 30% move higher on Thursday.

Viking shares rallied on news that the company is going to the FDA with the accumulated data for its lead obesity drug, VK2735. Viking wants to go straight to Phase 3 human trials as soon as possible.

If the FDA greenlights this, it could shorten VK2735’s developmental period, bringing commercialization sooner by a couple of years or more.

Right now, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly can’t make enough of their approved obesity drugs despite incredible demand, expanding their manufacturing capacity like they’re at war.

The market for these drugs is enormous, and Viking, with its still diminutive $7.2 billion market cap, might have the best drug on the market.

All the data I’ve seen on approved drugs and drugs in development show that VK2735 has the highest efficacy at 24 weeks, and over—patients lose more weight.

But this drug also has another very important feature: tolerability. In trials, patients reported fewer discontinuations and fewer adverse side effects, which will be huge differentiators in the market.

AST Spacemobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is also up huge on Thursday, gaining 24% as I write and 560% overall since the space communications company started rallying in mid-May.

The big driver today is that the company’s first five Bluebird satellites are ready to go, assembled, and ready to ship to the launch site.

These satellites are huge when compared to Starlink’s. They feature arrays (solar on one side, radio communications on the other) that span 693 square feet.

The company’s BlueWalker test satellite was a success, validating Spacemobile’s tech. These new production satellites will feature over 5,600 cells and have 10 times the processing bandwidth.

And, best of all, is the news that we now have a launch date. In the first week of August, the first Bluebird will accelerate through the Florida sky, reaching orbit atop a SpaceX Dragon rocket.

Spacemobile is revolutionizing long-distance communications, bringing high bandwidth connectivity to a standard smartphone anywhere its satellites orbit overhead.

Great Picks In An Uncertain World

Yesterday’s numbers were pretty positive. GDP grew by 2.8%, allegedly. But with all the political uncertainty, it’s great to be still able to profit bigly.

That’s why listening to great investors like Ray is so important. We can still beat that inflation monster while we keep up with the world.

Wrap Up

How about Ray’s picks? They've been nothing short of impressive, haven’t they? This success should give you the confidence to stay tuned for more.

And there is a lot more to come.

I kept this Rude short so you can watch the video. Go to our Paradigm Press YouTube channel and watch it now.

Have a great weekend!