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26900.0 | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC | 3 Health Care ETFs Leading the Sector Higher - ETF News And Commentary | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/3-health-care-etfs-leading-the-sector-higher-etf-news-and-commentary-2015-07-16 | nan | nan | After an impressive run in 2014, the health care sector is outperforming the overall market this year too with almost all ETFs returning in green and the best performing product Medical Breakthroughs ETF (SBIO) returning as much as 50% so far this year.
This bullish run in both pharma and biotech segments can be attributed to strong earnings growth, merger and acquisition frenzy, encouraging industry fundamentals, promising new drugs, growing demand in emerging markets and ever-increasing health care spending. In addition, the Affordable Care Act (often known as Obamacare) - which looks to expand the base of insured persons across the U.S. - is driving further growth in the sector.
Mergers are in full swing in the sector. Weaker margin and higher regulatory interference, thanks to Obamacare, led companies to consolidate within the sector (read: Pharma ETFs Soar on Acquisition Spree ).
According to the latest data released by Dealogic, the value of M&A in the U.S. health care sector took the top position in the first half of this year with $293.6 billion from 537 deals. This represents the largest volume ever in any semi-annual period and a 73% annual rise. The sector actually has been the leader in terms of M&A activity in three of the last five quarters.
Some of the mega merger deals of this year include AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquiring Pharmacyclics, Inc. in a transaction valued at $21 billion. Aetna ( AET ) agreed to acquire competitor health insurer Humana ( HUM ) for $34.1 billion in a cash and stock deal that will reduce the number of managed care players from the current five to four. There are speculations about Teva looking to acquire Mylan and Mylan targeting Perrigo.
Moreover, 2015 has so far been pretty rocky for the global investors with the U.S. thoroughly being in a rate hike dilemma, global growth worries posing occasional threat and the nagging Greek debt deal saga resurfacing once again. In this scenario, the sector's inherent defensiveness amid widespread volatility added to its appeal. The sector is expected to deliver an impressive performance in the Q2 earnings season. It is expected to post 7% growth in the top line and 6.9% increase in the bottom line.
In such a scenario, let us look at some outperformers in the space seems an intriguing idea. These funds have enjoyed a strong momentum in the year-to-date period and are expected to continue leading the health care space going forward (see all Health Care ETFs here).
PowerShares S&P SmallCap Health Care Portfolio (PSCH)
This ETF has been the clear winner in the broad health care world, returning nearly 24% so far this year and has been up 3.7% over the past one month. The fund offers concentrated exposure to small cap health care securities. It tracks the S&P Small Cap 600 Capped Health Care Index and holds 73 securities in its basket, with each security holding less than 3.93% share. From an industry perspective, about one-third of the portfolio is allotted toward health care equipment and supplies, followed by health care providers and services (28.3%) and pharmaceuticals (15.7%).
The ETF has amassed $233.8 million in asset and trades in lower volume of about 25,000 shares per day, while charging a relatively low fee of 29 bps a year. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a High risk outlook (read: 2 Hot Sector ETFs Soaring to Rank #1 This Summer ).
PowerShares Dynamic Healthcare Sector Portfolio ( PTH )
This fund follows the Dynamic Healthcare Sector Intellidex Index and holds a basket of 48 U.S. companies. The product has accumulated AUM of $233 million and charges 60 bps in fees and expenses from investors.
The product is well spread out across market cap levels with small caps (41%), large caps (40%) and mid caps (19%). In terms of industrial exposure, the fund is heavy on Biotechnology that makes up for 48% share while Health Care Providers (22.16%) and Health Care Equipment (13.17%) round off the next two spots. PTH returned about 21.8% in the year-to-date time frame and 6% in the last one month. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a High risk outlook.
iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (IHF)
This ETF follows the Dow Jones U.S. Select Healthcare Providers Index with exposure to companies that provide health insurance, diagnostics and specialized treatment. The product holds 51 securities in its portfolio. The fund has been able to attract $1.05 billion in assets so far. It charges 43 bps in annual fees and expenses and has gained almost 21.2% so far this year and 1.8% in the last one month. The fund also has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with medium risk outlook.
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ALPS-MED BRKTH (SBIO): ETF Research Reports
ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report
AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report
HUMANA INC NEW (HUM): Free Stock Analysis Report
PWRSH-SP SC HCP (PSCH): ETF Research Reports
PWRSH-DW HLT MO (PTH): ETF Research Reports
ISHARS-US H C P (IHF): ETF Research Reports
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Some of the mega merger deals of this year include AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquiring Pharmacyclics, Inc. in a transaction valued at $21 billion. Click to get this free report ALPS-MED BRKTH (SBIO): ETF Research Reports ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report HUMANA INC NEW (HUM): Free Stock Analysis Report PWRSH-SP SC HCP (PSCH): ETF Research Reports PWRSH-DW HLT MO (PTH): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-US H C P (IHF): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. This bullish run in both pharma and biotech segments can be attributed to strong earnings growth, merger and acquisition frenzy, encouraging industry fundamentals, promising new drugs, growing demand in emerging markets and ever-increasing health care spending. | Click to get this free report ALPS-MED BRKTH (SBIO): ETF Research Reports ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report HUMANA INC NEW (HUM): Free Stock Analysis Report PWRSH-SP SC HCP (PSCH): ETF Research Reports PWRSH-DW HLT MO (PTH): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-US H C P (IHF): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Some of the mega merger deals of this year include AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquiring Pharmacyclics, Inc. in a transaction valued at $21 billion. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a High risk outlook (read: 2 Hot Sector ETFs Soaring to Rank #1 This Summer ). | Click to get this free report ALPS-MED BRKTH (SBIO): ETF Research Reports ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report HUMANA INC NEW (HUM): Free Stock Analysis Report PWRSH-SP SC HCP (PSCH): ETF Research Reports PWRSH-DW HLT MO (PTH): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-US H C P (IHF): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Some of the mega merger deals of this year include AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquiring Pharmacyclics, Inc. in a transaction valued at $21 billion. After an impressive run in 2014, the health care sector is outperforming the overall market this year too with almost all ETFs returning in green and the best performing product Medical Breakthroughs ETF (SBIO) returning as much as 50% so far this year. | Some of the mega merger deals of this year include AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquiring Pharmacyclics, Inc. in a transaction valued at $21 billion. Click to get this free report ALPS-MED BRKTH (SBIO): ETF Research Reports ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report HUMANA INC NEW (HUM): Free Stock Analysis Report PWRSH-SP SC HCP (PSCH): ETF Research Reports PWRSH-DW HLT MO (PTH): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-US H C P (IHF): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. After an impressive run in 2014, the health care sector is outperforming the overall market this year too with almost all ETFs returning in green and the best performing product Medical Breakthroughs ETF (SBIO) returning as much as 50% so far this year. |
26901.0 | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC | Midyear Report Card: Grading My Biotech Predictions for 2015 | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/midyear-report-card-grading-my-biotech-predictions-2015-2015-07-14 | nan | nan | Source: Kentucky.gov
At the beginning of this year, I outlined five biotech predictions that could affect investors, and now that the first six months of the year are in the rearview mirror, it seems to be the perfect time to check in and see how I'm doing. Without further ado, here's my report card -- warts and all.
No. 1: Celgene buys somebody -- Grade B
In January, I wrote, " Celgene Corporation will buy somebody. I don't have any idea which company Celgene could buy in 2015, but the company's getting flush with cash, and it's been kicking a lot of tires over the past two years."
In April, Celgene announced it was buying the privately-held Quanticel for $100 million plus potential milestones, and last month, it reported an $850 million acquisition of a 10% stake in the immuno-oncology play Juno Therapeutics as part of a broader $1 billion collaboration.
The Quanticel purchase gives Celgene epigenetics drug candidates that could enter human trials by 2017, and the Juno Therapeutics deal nets Celgene options to rights on compelling CAR-T medicines that may someday revolutionize cancer treatment, while also giving Celgene the option to increase its stake in the company to just shy of 30%.
However, neither of those deals is as big a splash as I was predicting, and for that reason I'm giving myself a "B" on this one -- for now. Because the investment in Juno Therapeutics doesn't make too big of a dent in Celgene's cash stockpile, other deals could be coming. So stay tuned.
No. 2 Alkermes market value will climb -- Grade: A
I predicted that investors would boost Alkermes shares this year for a variety of reasons, including the potential for future revenue tied to a long-lasting version of Abilify and an adjunct therapy for depression.
Shares have indeed gone higher this year, gaining 25% at their peak in late February, and trading 9.5% higher today. Although I was much happier with the valuation pop in February than I am today, I remain a believer that Alkermes' evolving pipeline and royalty revenue stream could lead shares to take another run higher.
Source: Leafly.
No. 3 GW Pharmaceuticals will stumble -- Grade: F
Boy, did I blow this one! I thought valuation concerns would lead investors to walk away from GW Pharmaceuticals . However, shares have surged higher since I made my prediction.
To my credit, GW Pharmaceuticals reported in January that its marijuana drug Sativex failed in the first of three phase 3 trials to read out this year, but ultimately investors care about the direction of the stock, so I'm sticking with giving myself an "F."
Could I be vindicated? I think so. The second cancer trial was designed similarly to the first failed trial, which could mean that Sativex falls short there, too. If so, then it puts a lot of pressure on the third trial, which was designed differently. Additionally, while GW Pharmaceuticals' epilepsy research is intriguing, Epidiolex targets relatively rare cases of the disease, which could limit eventual sales, especially if competitor Insys Therapeutics succeeds with its epilepsy trials. These risks give me reason to think GW Pharmaceuticals' market cap of $2.4 billion is too rich, but I'm not willing to sell it short.
No 4. The hepatitis C battle will evolve -- Grade: B
Heading into 2015, most investors' attention was focused on the looming showdown between Gilead Sciences , the maker of two HCV drugs that racked up over $12 billion in sales last year, and AbbVie , which secured FDA approval for Viekira Pak, a therapy that challenges Gilead Sciences' Harvoni for market share in genotype 1 patients, in December.
I speculated that a far more intriguing battle could emerge not between those two drugs, but among drugmakers jockeying to create next-generation treatments that work better and can be dosed over fewer weeks.
Based on first-quarter results, Gilead Sciences' $3.6 billion in Harvoni sales suggests that Viekira's impact may be less than feared, but the jury is still out on whether that battle is becoming secondary to the one likely to be waged over next-generation therapies.
In May, Johnson & Johnson stepped a $1.1 billion deal to lock up Achillion Pharmaceuticals ' HCV pipeline, which has shown impressive results so far for a six-week treatment regimen. That gives me conviction that the debate will continue shifting toward future HCV drugs, rather than those that are currently approved. Since Gilead Sciences is expected to release data from phase 3 trials evaluating a next-generation successor to Sovaldi in non-genotype 1 patients, I think that battle could become increasingly important as we get deeper into the year.
No 5: Investors will flock to biosimilars -- Grade: A
In February ,Pfizerforked out $17 billion to buy biosimilar maker Hospira, one of the stocks I called out as a likely beneficiary of investors' rising interest in biosimilars that work similarly to, but aren't exact replicas of, existing biologic medicines.
In that deal, Pfizer estimates that it gains exposure to a market that will grow from a few billion today to as much as $20 billion by 2020.
Pfizer's deal kick-started interest in biosimilars, but it was the FDA's approval of Novartis ' Sandoz unit's biosimilar to the blockbuster drug Neupogen and Sandoz and Momenta Pharmaceuticals ' Copaxone biosimilar that had investors scurrying to pick up shares in the companies working on them. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the increasing interest in biosimilars is Momenta Pharmaceuticals, which has seen its shares jump 79% this year.
I think the biosimilars land-grab remains in the early stages and that there's plenty more upside for companies developing them lying ahead, so investors might want to sprinkle biosimilar drugmakers into their portfolios.
Tying it together
Overall, if I could take a mulligan, it would be on GW Pharmaceuticals. Its ongoing rally is an important reminder never to underestimate momentum, or, in the words of a former mentor, to "never stand in front of a runaway locomotive." Otherwise, I think the predictions continue to hold water today and for that reason, investors should still be considering which companies Celgene could buy, and taking stakes in Alkermes, next generation hepatitis C drug developers, and companies that are at the forefront of the biosimilar movement.
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The article Midyear Report Card: Grading My Biotech Predictions for 2015 originally appeared on Fool.com.
Todd Campbell owns shares of Alkermes, Gilead Sciences, and Achillion Pharmaceuticals. Todd owns the equity research firm E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene, Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, and Momenta Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | The hepatitis C battle will evolve -- Grade: B Heading into 2015, most investors' attention was focused on the looming showdown between Gilead Sciences , the maker of two HCV drugs that racked up over $12 billion in sales last year, and AbbVie , which secured FDA approval for Viekira Pak, a therapy that challenges Gilead Sciences' Harvoni for market share in genotype 1 patients, in December. Although I was much happier with the valuation pop in February than I am today, I remain a believer that Alkermes' evolving pipeline and royalty revenue stream could lead shares to take another run higher. To my credit, GW Pharmaceuticals reported in January that its marijuana drug Sativex failed in the first of three phase 3 trials to read out this year, but ultimately investors care about the direction of the stock, so I'm sticking with giving myself an "F." Could I be vindicated? | The hepatitis C battle will evolve -- Grade: B Heading into 2015, most investors' attention was focused on the looming showdown between Gilead Sciences , the maker of two HCV drugs that racked up over $12 billion in sales last year, and AbbVie , which secured FDA approval for Viekira Pak, a therapy that challenges Gilead Sciences' Harvoni for market share in genotype 1 patients, in December. Todd Campbell owns shares of Alkermes, Gilead Sciences, and Achillion Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene, Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, and Momenta Pharmaceuticals. | The hepatitis C battle will evolve -- Grade: B Heading into 2015, most investors' attention was focused on the looming showdown between Gilead Sciences , the maker of two HCV drugs that racked up over $12 billion in sales last year, and AbbVie , which secured FDA approval for Viekira Pak, a therapy that challenges Gilead Sciences' Harvoni for market share in genotype 1 patients, in December. No 5: Investors will flock to biosimilars -- Grade: A In February ,Pfizerforked out $17 billion to buy biosimilar maker Hospira, one of the stocks I called out as a likely beneficiary of investors' rising interest in biosimilars that work similarly to, but aren't exact replicas of, existing biologic medicines. Pfizer's deal kick-started interest in biosimilars, but it was the FDA's approval of Novartis ' Sandoz unit's biosimilar to the blockbuster drug Neupogen and Sandoz and Momenta Pharmaceuticals ' Copaxone biosimilar that had investors scurrying to pick up shares in the companies working on them. | The hepatitis C battle will evolve -- Grade: B Heading into 2015, most investors' attention was focused on the looming showdown between Gilead Sciences , the maker of two HCV drugs that racked up over $12 billion in sales last year, and AbbVie , which secured FDA approval for Viekira Pak, a therapy that challenges Gilead Sciences' Harvoni for market share in genotype 1 patients, in December. These risks give me reason to think GW Pharmaceuticals' market cap of $2.4 billion is too rich, but I'm not willing to sell it short. Otherwise, I think the predictions continue to hold water today and for that reason, investors should still be considering which companies Celgene could buy, and taking stakes in Alkermes, next generation hepatitis C drug developers, and companies that are at the forefront of the biosimilar movement. |
26902.0 | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie (ABBV) Gains on Label Expansion of Imbruvica in EU - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-abbv-gains-on-label-expansion-of-imbruvica-in-eu-analyst-blog-2015-07-13 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced a label expansion for its drug Imbruvica in the EU. Imbruvica gained EU approval for the treatment of adults with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) who have undergone at least one prior therapy or as the first-line treatment for patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy.
This makes Imbruvica the first and only treatment to be approved for this indication in the EU. AbbVie's shares were up 1.9% following the news. The EU approval was largely expected as the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use had issued a favorable opinion in May this year.
Imbruvica is already approved in the EU for the treatment of adults suffering from relapsed or refractory mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have received at least one prior therapy or in the first-line use in the presence of 17p deletion or TP53 mutation in patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy. The drug is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of patients with WM, MCL and CLL indications.
We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015. AbbVie has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson JNJ for Imbruvica. While Johnson & Johnson markets Imbruvica in ex-U.S. territories, the two companies jointly commercialize Imbruvica in the U.S. The approval in the EU has triggered a milestone payment of $20 million to AbbVie.
We are encouraged by the label expansion of Imbruvica. The drug registered global sales of $548 million in 2014. AbbVie expects Imbruvica peak sales of more than $7 billion and U.S. sales of $1 billion in 2015. Imbruvica is currently being studied alone or in combination with other treatments for several types of blood cancer. Label expansion would boost the drug's sales potential further.
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector are Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AGIO and AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMAG . Both hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced a label expansion for its drug Imbruvica in the EU. AbbVie's shares were up 1.9% following the news. | Click to get this free report AMAG PHARMA INC (AMAG): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AGIOS PHARMACT (AGIO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced a label expansion for its drug Imbruvica in the EU. AbbVie's shares were up 1.9% following the news. | Click to get this free report AMAG PHARMA INC (AMAG): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AGIOS PHARMACT (AGIO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced a label expansion for its drug Imbruvica in the EU. AbbVie's shares were up 1.9% following the news. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced a label expansion for its drug Imbruvica in the EU. Click to get this free report AMAG PHARMA INC (AMAG): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report AGIOS PHARMACT (AGIO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie's shares were up 1.9% following the news. |
26903.0 | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC | Notable Monday Option Activity: AAPL, IP, ABBV | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/notable-monday-option-activity-aapl-ip-abbv-2015-07-13 | nan | nan | Among the underlying components of the S&P 500 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Apple Inc (Symbol: AAPL), where a total of 570,581 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 57.1 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 133.2% of AAPL's average daily trading volume over the past month of 42.8 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $125 strike call option expiring July 17, 2015 , with 40,380 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 4.0 million underlying shares of AAPL. Below is a chart showing AAPL's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $125 strike highlighted in orange:
International Paper Co (Symbol: IP) saw options trading volume of 36,546 contracts, representing approximately 3.7 million underlying shares or approximately 105.7% of IP's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 3.5 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $49 strike call option expiring October 16, 2015 , with 9,041 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 904,100 underlying shares of IP. Below is a chart showing IP's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $49 strike highlighted in orange:
And AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) options are showing a volume of 64,821 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 6.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 75.5% of ABBV's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 8.6 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $65 strike call option expiring September 18, 2015 , with 55,001 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 5.5 million underlying shares of ABBV. Below is a chart showing ABBV's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $65 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for AAPL options , IP options , or ABBV options , visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Today's Most Active Call & Put Options of the S&P 500 »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Particularly high volume was seen for the $65 strike call option expiring September 18, 2015 , with 55,001 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 5.5 million underlying shares of ABBV. Below is a chart showing IP's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $49 strike highlighted in orange: And AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) options are showing a volume of 64,821 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 6.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 75.5% of ABBV's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 8.6 million shares. | Below is a chart showing IP's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $49 strike highlighted in orange: And AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) options are showing a volume of 64,821 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 6.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 75.5% of ABBV's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 8.6 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $65 strike call option expiring September 18, 2015 , with 55,001 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 5.5 million underlying shares of ABBV. | Below is a chart showing IP's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $49 strike highlighted in orange: And AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) options are showing a volume of 64,821 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 6.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 75.5% of ABBV's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 8.6 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $65 strike call option expiring September 18, 2015 , with 55,001 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 5.5 million underlying shares of ABBV. | Particularly high volume was seen for the $65 strike call option expiring September 18, 2015 , with 55,001 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 5.5 million underlying shares of ABBV. Below is a chart showing IP's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $49 strike highlighted in orange: And AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) options are showing a volume of 64,821 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 6.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 75.5% of ABBV's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 8.6 million shares. |
26904.0 | 2015-07-12 00:00:00 UTC | $1.5 Trillion Reasons to Invest in These Companies | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/15-trillion-reasons-invest-these-companies-2015-07-12 | nan | nan | Changing of the guard
A lot of that increase in savings stems from 2010-2013's patent cliff, a period in which $95 billion in top-selling, small-molecule drugs like Lipitor lost patent protection.
Although the tailwinds from the small molecule patent cliff are ebbing, I believe that approaching patent expiration on biologics, including AbbVie 's Humira -- the best-selling drug on the planet with $12 billion in sales last year -- makes generic drugmakers still worth investing in.
Apparently, drug giants agree:
In February, Pfizeracquired biosimilars trend-setter Hospira for $17 billion, citing a potential $20 billion in market opportunity by 2020.
Novartis is pouring money into its Sandoz generic business to develop biosimilars, and those efforts are beginning to pay off with FDA approvals of biosimilars to the blockbuster drugs Neupogen and Copaxone this year.
Amgen has increased the number of biosimilars it's developing from six to nine in the past year.
And last month, Biogenannounced its investment in biosimilars to Remicade and Enbrel could lead to sales soon given that they've now been proven to work as effectively as the brand name versions.
The increasing attention being focused on the biosimilar opportunity by these companies likely isn't misplaced.
According to Express Scripts , roughly $70 billion in brand-name biologics will lose patent protection by 2018, and healthcare payers could save $250 billion between 2014 and 2024 if the likeliest biosimilars enter the market. That's a big number, but it may underestimate the longer-term opportunity given that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America reports that there are more than 900 biologic drugs under development that, if approved, could someday lose patent protection.
Investing in the basket
Investing in generic drugmakers makes sense given that:
biologics carry price tags that run into the tens of thousands of dollars per year;
biologics are tough to manufacture and likely to be priced higher relative to the brand-name drug than small-molecule generics have traditionally been priced;
and healthcare payers are likely to welcome biosimilars costs savings with open arms.
Obviously, large players like Pfizer, Novartis, Amgen, and Biogen have the potential to benefit from biosimilar success, but investors may also want to consider smaller companies that are more focused on biosimilars, such as Momenta Pharmaceuticals .
Momenta is partnered up with Novartis on its recently-approved Copaxone biosimilar, and the company could benefit handsomely from that relationship. Prior to the launch of a longer-lasting Copaxone, the original formulation targeted by Novartis and Momenta's biosimilar was racking up over $4 billion in sales annually. It's unclear how much of that remains in play -- estimates suggest 60% of patients have swapped to the longer-lasting formulation of Copaxone -- but Momenta will split profit with Novartis on any sales, and it could also receive milestone payments from Novartis if sales eclipse certain thresholds.
Investors who are willing to take on more risk may also want to keep an eye on biosimilars pure play Coherus BioSciences , which IPO'd earlier this year and is working on a Neupogen biosimilar that could be filed for FDA approval by early next year, and is partnered up with Baxter International on an Enbrel biosimilar.
Regardless of how investors choose to get exposure to generics, the positive impact on healthcare spending suggests that this is one healthcare trend that's worth betting on.
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The article $1.5 Trillion Reasons to Invest in These Companies originally appeared on Fool.com.
Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned. Todd owns the equity research firm E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Baxter International, Express Scripts, and Momenta Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Although the tailwinds from the small molecule patent cliff are ebbing, I believe that approaching patent expiration on biologics, including AbbVie 's Humira -- the best-selling drug on the planet with $12 billion in sales last year -- makes generic drugmakers still worth investing in. And last month, Biogenannounced its investment in biosimilars to Remicade and Enbrel could lead to sales soon given that they've now been proven to work as effectively as the brand name versions. That's a big number, but it may underestimate the longer-term opportunity given that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America reports that there are more than 900 biologic drugs under development that, if approved, could someday lose patent protection. | Although the tailwinds from the small molecule patent cliff are ebbing, I believe that approaching patent expiration on biologics, including AbbVie 's Humira -- the best-selling drug on the planet with $12 billion in sales last year -- makes generic drugmakers still worth investing in. According to Express Scripts , roughly $70 billion in brand-name biologics will lose patent protection by 2018, and healthcare payers could save $250 billion between 2014 and 2024 if the likeliest biosimilars enter the market. The Motley Fool recommends Baxter International, Express Scripts, and Momenta Pharmaceuticals. | Although the tailwinds from the small molecule patent cliff are ebbing, I believe that approaching patent expiration on biologics, including AbbVie 's Humira -- the best-selling drug on the planet with $12 billion in sales last year -- makes generic drugmakers still worth investing in. Novartis is pouring money into its Sandoz generic business to develop biosimilars, and those efforts are beginning to pay off with FDA approvals of biosimilars to the blockbuster drugs Neupogen and Copaxone this year. Investing in the basket Investing in generic drugmakers makes sense given that: biologics carry price tags that run into the tens of thousands of dollars per year; biologics are tough to manufacture and likely to be priced higher relative to the brand-name drug than small-molecule generics have traditionally been priced; and healthcare payers are likely to welcome biosimilars costs savings with open arms. | Although the tailwinds from the small molecule patent cliff are ebbing, I believe that approaching patent expiration on biologics, including AbbVie 's Humira -- the best-selling drug on the planet with $12 billion in sales last year -- makes generic drugmakers still worth investing in. According to Express Scripts , roughly $70 billion in brand-name biologics will lose patent protection by 2018, and healthcare payers could save $250 billion between 2014 and 2024 if the likeliest biosimilars enter the market. Prior to the launch of a longer-lasting Copaxone, the original formulation targeted by Novartis and Momenta's biosimilar was racking up over $4 billion in sales annually. |
26905.0 | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Ex-Dividend Date Scheduled for July 13, 2015 | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-inc-abbv-ex-dividend-date-scheduled-july-13-2015-2015-07-10 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) will begin trading ex-dividend on July 13, 2015. A cash dividend payment of $0.51 per share is scheduled to be paid on August 14, 2015. Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. This represents an 21.43% increase over the same period a year ago. At the current stock price of $67.97, the dividend yield is 3%.
The previous trading day's last sale of ABBV was $67.97, representing a -3.94% decrease from the 52 week high of $70.76 and a 32.31% increase over the 52 week low of $51.37.
ABBV is a part of the Health Care sector, which includes companies such as Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Novartis AG ( NVS ). ABBV's current earnings per share, an indicator of a company's profitability, is $1.11. Zacks Investment Research reports ABBV's forecasted earnings growth in 2015 as 28.46%, compared to an industry average of 3.5%.
For more information on the declaration, record and payment dates, visit the ABBV Dividend History page. Our Dividend Calendar has the full list of stocks that have an ex-dividend today.
Interested in gaining exposure to ABBV through an Exchange Traded Fund [ETF]?
The following ETF(s) have ABBV as a top-10 holding:
First Trust IPOX-100 Index Fund ( FPX )
Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( PPH )
Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF ( CSD )
SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF ( XPH )
SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF ( SYV ).
The top-performing ETF of this group is SYV with an increase of 7.15% over the last 100 days. FPX has the highest percent weighting of ABBV at 8.26%.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. Zacks Investment Research reports ABBV's forecasted earnings growth in 2015 as 28.46%, compared to an industry average of 3.5%. For more information on the declaration, record and payment dates, visit the ABBV Dividend History page. | The following ETF(s) have ABBV as a top-10 holding: First Trust IPOX-100 Index Fund ( FPX ) Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( PPH ) Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF ( CSD ) SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF ( XPH ) SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF ( SYV ). The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) will begin trading ex-dividend on July 13, 2015. | Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. The previous trading day's last sale of ABBV was $67.97, representing a -3.94% decrease from the 52 week high of $70.76 and a 32.31% increase over the 52 week low of $51.37. The following ETF(s) have ABBV as a top-10 holding: First Trust IPOX-100 Index Fund ( FPX ) Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( PPH ) Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF ( CSD ) SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF ( XPH ) SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF ( SYV ). | Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. ABBV's current earnings per share, an indicator of a company's profitability, is $1.11. AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) will begin trading ex-dividend on July 13, 2015. |
26906.0 | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC | UPRO, MMM, ABT, ABBV: Large Inflows Detected at ETF | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/upro-mmm-abt-abbv-large-inflows-detected-etf-2015-07-08 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares UltraPro S&P500 (Symbol: UPRO) where we have detected an approximate $139.9 million dollar inflow -- that's a 18.2% increase week over week in outstanding units (from 11,250,000 to 13,300,000). Among the largest underlying components of UPRO, in trading today 3M Co (Symbol: MMM) is down about 1.1%, Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, and AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the UPRO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of UPRO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, UPRO's low point in its 52 week range is $45.74 per share, with $73.66 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $66.14. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs had notable inflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of UPRO, in trading today 3M Co (Symbol: MMM) is down about 1.1%, Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, and AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares UltraPro S&P500 (Symbol: UPRO) where we have detected an approximate $139.9 million dollar inflow -- that's a 18.2% increase week over week in outstanding units (from 11,250,000 to 13,300,000). These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of UPRO, in trading today 3M Co (Symbol: MMM) is down about 1.1%, Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, and AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the UPRO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of UPRO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, UPRO's low point in its 52 week range is $45.74 per share, with $73.66 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $66.14. Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs had notable inflows » The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of UPRO, in trading today 3M Co (Symbol: MMM) is down about 1.1%, Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, and AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares UltraPro S&P500 (Symbol: UPRO) where we have detected an approximate $139.9 million dollar inflow -- that's a 18.2% increase week over week in outstanding units (from 11,250,000 to 13,300,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the UPRO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of UPRO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, UPRO's low point in its 52 week range is $45.74 per share, with $73.66 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $66.14. | Among the largest underlying components of UPRO, in trading today 3M Co (Symbol: MMM) is down about 1.1%, Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, and AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares UltraPro S&P500 (Symbol: UPRO) where we have detected an approximate $139.9 million dollar inflow -- that's a 18.2% increase week over week in outstanding units (from 11,250,000 to 13,300,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the UPRO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of UPRO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, UPRO's low point in its 52 week range is $45.74 per share, with $73.66 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $66.14. |
26907.0 | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC | After Hours Most Active for Jul 6, 2015 : ABBV, INFY, RAD, CAG, GILD, INTC, SFM, SFUN, BNDX, PPC, MBI, MU | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/after-hours-most-active-jul-6-2015-abbv-infy-rad-cag-gild-intc-sfm-sfun-bndx-ppc-mbi-mu | nan | nan | The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is up 2.15 to 4,420.81. The total After hours volume is currently 33,461,679 shares traded.
The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session :
AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $68.22, with 10,015,929 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for ABBV is 8.45373; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock.
Infosys Limited ( INFY ) is unchanged at $15.88, with 3,009,437 shares traded.INFY is scheduled to provide an earnings report on 7/10/2015, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun2015. The consensus earnings per share forecast is 0.2 per share, which represents a 21 percent increase over the EPS one Year Ago
Rite Aid Corporation ( RAD ) is +0.03 at $8.32, with 2,509,924 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for RAD is in the "buy range".
ConAgra Foods, Inc. ( CAG ) is unchanged at $44.62, with 2,217,677 shares traded. CAG's current last sale is 93.94% of the target price of $47.5.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. ( GILD ) is unchanged at $115.66, with 2,093,455 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for GILD is in the "buy range".
Intel Corporation ( INTC ) is -0.09 at $29.95, with 1,558,745 shares traded. INTC's current last sale is 80.95% of the target price of $37.
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. ( SFM ) is -0.01 at $26.55, with 1,436,408 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for SFM is 9.541186; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock.
SouFun Holdings Limited ( SFUN ) is +0.2327 at $7.36, with 1,345,170 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for SFUN is in the "buy range".
Vanguard Total International Bond ETF ( BNDX ) is -0.019 at $52.20, with 1,145,148 shares traded. This represents a 1.95% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation ( PPC ) is unchanged at $22.75, with 1,000,906 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for PPC is 33.191418; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock.
MBIA, Inc. ( MBI ) is -0.0162 at $5.56, with 932,197 shares traded. MBI's current last sale is 69.55% of the target price of $8.
Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ) is +0.0099 at $18.33, with 653,914 shares traded., following a 52-week high recorded in today's regular session.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for ABBV is 8.45373; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $68.22, with 10,015,929 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for SFM is 9.541186; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. | As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for ABBV is 8.45373; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $68.22, with 10,015,929 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for SFM is 9.541186; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $68.22, with 10,015,929 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for ABBV is 8.45373; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. The consensus earnings per share forecast is 0.2 per share, which represents a 21 percent increase over the EPS one Year Ago Rite Aid Corporation ( RAD ) is +0.03 at $8.32, with 2,509,924 shares traded. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $68.22, with 10,015,929 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for ABBV is 8.45373; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. The total After hours volume is currently 33,461,679 shares traded. |
26908.0 | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC | Noteworthy ETF Outflows: JKD, ABBV, USB, ABT | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/noteworthy-etf-outflows-jkd-abbv-usb-abt-2015-06-29 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the iShares Morningstar Large-Cap ETF (Symbol: JKD) where we have detected an approximate $55.4 million dollar outflow -- that's a 7.9% decrease week over week (from 5,700,000 to 5,250,000). Among the largest underlying components of JKD, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 1.9%, U.S. Bancorp (Symbol: USB) is off about 1.5%, and Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is lower by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the JKD Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of JKD, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, JKD's low point in its 52 week range is $107.81 per share, with $126.28 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $122.10. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of JKD, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 1.9%, U.S. Bancorp (Symbol: USB) is off about 1.5%, and Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is lower by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the JKD Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of JKD, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, JKD's low point in its 52 week range is $107.81 per share, with $126.28 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $122.10. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of JKD, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 1.9%, U.S. Bancorp (Symbol: USB) is off about 1.5%, and Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is lower by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the JKD Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of JKD, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, JKD's low point in its 52 week range is $107.81 per share, with $126.28 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $122.10. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of JKD, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 1.9%, U.S. Bancorp (Symbol: USB) is off about 1.5%, and Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is lower by about 0.6%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the iShares Morningstar Large-Cap ETF (Symbol: JKD) where we have detected an approximate $55.4 million dollar outflow -- that's a 7.9% decrease week over week (from 5,700,000 to 5,250,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the JKD Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of JKD, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, JKD's low point in its 52 week range is $107.81 per share, with $126.28 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $122.10. | Among the largest underlying components of JKD, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 1.9%, U.S. Bancorp (Symbol: USB) is off about 1.5%, and Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is lower by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the JKD Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of JKD, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, JKD's low point in its 52 week range is $107.81 per share, with $126.28 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $122.10. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). |
26909.0 | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC | Better Dividend Stock: AbbVie or Johnson & Johnson? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/better-dividend-stock-abbvie-or-johnson-johnson-2015-06-29 | nan | nan | Dividend stocks are an essential part of a portfolio for investors focused on the long term. After all, these stocks can amplify gains tremendously when investors use them to purchase more shares through dividend reinvestment plans.
As we all have to make tough investing choices, though, it can be difficult to decide which dividend payers to buy, especially among top dogs such as AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson . These two healthcare companies have a well-earned reputation for increasing their dividends, as well as their top and bottom lines. So let's take a deeper look under the hood of these dividend aristocrats to suss out which stock offers the better long-term prospects.
AbbVie is pursuing a high-growth strategy
Unlike many of its peers in the large-cap dividend-stock universe, AbbVie is still very much a growth stock as well, reflecting management's strategy of producing double-digit revenue growth over the long term. Since being spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, AbbVie has markedly outperformed the broader markets -- all the while increasing its dividend by a noteworthy 28%.
At current levels, AbbVie offers a dividend yield of 2.91%, making it a top dog among income-generating healthcare stocks. Unfortunately, there is some concern that this comparatively high yield might be unsustainable going forward. Because of the drugmaker's various investments in its clinical pipeline and product portfolio -- including its recent $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics -- as a holistic strategy to stave off the pain of the loss of exclusivity for its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2017, AbbVie's 12-month trailing payout ratio and cash flows have been heading in the wrong direction for a while now.
On the bright side, the company has been seeing stellar sales growth from multiple products, including Duodopa, Creon, Humira, and Synthroid. And the Pharmacyclics acquisition is expected to start boosting AbbVie's top and bottom lines starting in 2017. Management is also confident that it has a formidable defense in place against generic versions (that is, biosimilars) of Humira that could delay their eventual entry into the marketplace by several years, if not a decade. So there is a better than average chance that this somewhat disconcerting pattern between cash flow and the payout ratio could start to reverse course soon.
Johnson & Johnson has provided investors with decades of steady income and growth
Despite its massive market cap of $276 billion, J&J also has a long history of generating strong top- and bottom-line growth, as well as regularly increasing its dividend. Specifically, this healthcare stalwart has now posted 31 consecutive years of adjusted earnings growth and raised its dividend 53 years in a row.
In recent times, J&J's growth and rising cash flows have been driven almost exclusively by its red-hot pharmaceutical division. Last year, pharmaceutical sales jumped by 15% to $32.3 billion compared with 2013, while the company's medical-device and consumer-healthcare segments posted low-single-digit drop-offs in sales.
However, J&J's pharmaceutical sales are expected to tip this year for a couple of reasons. First off, the introduction of Gilead Sciences ' hepatitis C treatment Harvoni has basically made J&J's hep C drug, Olysio, obsolete. And then there's the threat of biosimilars to its arthritis blockbuster Remicade. Competitors in Europe are offering steep discounts of nearly 40% on their biosimilar, Remsima, which is apparently helping it to grab a larger share of the market than previously anticipated .
This dip in pharma sales looks like a temporary overhang, though, that shouldn't worry investors with a longer-term outlook. In the past five years, J&J has garnered the most new drug approvals with the Food and Drug Administration in the entire pharma industry, and its dominance should continue, with an estimated 12 novel drugs with blockbuster potential expected to come to market by 2019.
So which stock is the winner?
While AbbVie has trounced the broader markets since becoming an independent company, J&J has proved its ability to sustain top-notch value creation over multiple decades. That's why this is such a hard choice.
J&J nevertheless comes off as the winner because it simply has one of the best balance sheets in the industry, which has, in turn, given it the capability of funding numerous partnerships to bolster its clinical pipeline. AbbVie, by contrast, has taken on a lot of debt recently to fund the Pharmacyclics buyout, which could hamstring the drugmaker from pursuing additional deals down the line. Simply put, AbbVie has a far smaller margin of error on the clinical front than J&J to maintain its current levels of growth and dividend yield.
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The article Better Dividend Stock: AbbVie or Johnson & Johnson? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Because of the drugmaker's various investments in its clinical pipeline and product portfolio -- including its recent $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics -- as a holistic strategy to stave off the pain of the loss of exclusivity for its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2017, AbbVie's 12-month trailing payout ratio and cash flows have been heading in the wrong direction for a while now. As we all have to make tough investing choices, though, it can be difficult to decide which dividend payers to buy, especially among top dogs such as AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson . AbbVie is pursuing a high-growth strategy Unlike many of its peers in the large-cap dividend-stock universe, AbbVie is still very much a growth stock as well, reflecting management's strategy of producing double-digit revenue growth over the long term. | At current levels, AbbVie offers a dividend yield of 2.91%, making it a top dog among income-generating healthcare stocks. Because of the drugmaker's various investments in its clinical pipeline and product portfolio -- including its recent $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics -- as a holistic strategy to stave off the pain of the loss of exclusivity for its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2017, AbbVie's 12-month trailing payout ratio and cash flows have been heading in the wrong direction for a while now. And the Pharmacyclics acquisition is expected to start boosting AbbVie's top and bottom lines starting in 2017. | AbbVie is pursuing a high-growth strategy Unlike many of its peers in the large-cap dividend-stock universe, AbbVie is still very much a growth stock as well, reflecting management's strategy of producing double-digit revenue growth over the long term. Because of the drugmaker's various investments in its clinical pipeline and product portfolio -- including its recent $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics -- as a holistic strategy to stave off the pain of the loss of exclusivity for its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2017, AbbVie's 12-month trailing payout ratio and cash flows have been heading in the wrong direction for a while now. As we all have to make tough investing choices, though, it can be difficult to decide which dividend payers to buy, especially among top dogs such as AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson . | At current levels, AbbVie offers a dividend yield of 2.91%, making it a top dog among income-generating healthcare stocks. As we all have to make tough investing choices, though, it can be difficult to decide which dividend payers to buy, especially among top dogs such as AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson . AbbVie is pursuing a high-growth strategy Unlike many of its peers in the large-cap dividend-stock universe, AbbVie is still very much a growth stock as well, reflecting management's strategy of producing double-digit revenue growth over the long term. |
26910.0 | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC | Hot-Handed Billionaire Investors Crushing the S&P This Year, Buying These Stocks: AIG, MU, JBLU, SPY | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hot-handed-billionaire-investors-crushing-sp-year-buying-these-stocks-aig-mu-jblu-spy-2015 | nan | nan | According to the Rob Copeland of the Wall Street Journal, top hedge fund managers are beating the S&P by a huge margin this year.
The article notes that three billionaire hedge fund managers, David Tepper, Larry Robbins and John Paulson, are all up 10% or more after fees in 2015. That compares to a 3% return for the S&P 500.
Of that trio, Paulson is up an eye popping 19% year-to-date. That’s more than six times the return of the S&P 500. He’s done it by betting correctly on stocks like Time Warner Cable and Salix Pharmaceuticals, both of which were acquired for large premiums.
At Billionairesportfolio.com we have been piggybacking the highest conviction stocks, ETFs and options of the world’s best billionaire hedge fund managers since 2012, and we’ve witnessed first-hand, the power of following the best ideas of the world’s greatest billionaire investors. Earlier this year, we followed Perceptive Advisors, a multi-billion dollar biotech specialist hedge fund, into Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT). That stock is up 155% since early February.
Given the value of following the biggest and best, and given the hot hand that billionaires Tepper, Robbins and Paulson have had this year, let’s take a look at their most recent stocks picks:
1) Billionaire Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital has made huge returns on healthcare stocks this year, including a $200 million gain in one day when Humana announced that it was exploring a possible sale, and subsequently exploded higher in value. Robbins has two new healthcare picks, both of which he has said could double, Abbvie (ABBV) and Brookdale Senior Living (BKD).
2) Billionaire John Paulson, an M&A specialist with an incredible track record of buying stocks right before they get acquired, has initiated a new stake in AIG (AIG). He also recently added to his position in T-Mobile (TMUS), a stock that has constantly been rumored as a takeover target.
3) Billionaire David Tepper who recently made a bold bet on the broad stock market, buying a billion dollar worth of call options on the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) and the S&P 500 (SPY), has added two new notable stocks to his portfolio recently, Micron Technology (MU) and Jet Blue Airways (JBLU).
Billionairesportfolio.com, run by two veterans of the hedge fund industry, helps self-directed investors invest alongside the world’s best billionaire investors. By selecting the best ideas from the best billionaire investors and hedge funds, our exited stock investment recommendations have averaged a 31% gain since 2012.
How BillionairesPortfolio.com Predicted the Big Pop In Sarepta Therapeutics
The Carl Icahn Effect & How It Can Work For You
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Robbins has two new healthcare picks, both of which he has said could double, Abbvie (ABBV) and Brookdale Senior Living (BKD). According to the Rob Copeland of the Wall Street Journal, top hedge fund managers are beating the S&P by a huge margin this year. The article notes that three billionaire hedge fund managers, David Tepper, Larry Robbins and John Paulson, are all up 10% or more after fees in 2015. | Robbins has two new healthcare picks, both of which he has said could double, Abbvie (ABBV) and Brookdale Senior Living (BKD). The article notes that three billionaire hedge fund managers, David Tepper, Larry Robbins and John Paulson, are all up 10% or more after fees in 2015. Given the value of following the biggest and best, and given the hot hand that billionaires Tepper, Robbins and Paulson have had this year, let’s take a look at their most recent stocks picks: 1) Billionaire Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital has made huge returns on healthcare stocks this year, including a $200 million gain in one day when Humana announced that it was exploring a possible sale, and subsequently exploded higher in value. | Robbins has two new healthcare picks, both of which he has said could double, Abbvie (ABBV) and Brookdale Senior Living (BKD). At Billionairesportfolio.com we have been piggybacking the highest conviction stocks, ETFs and options of the world’s best billionaire hedge fund managers since 2012, and we’ve witnessed first-hand, the power of following the best ideas of the world’s greatest billionaire investors. Given the value of following the biggest and best, and given the hot hand that billionaires Tepper, Robbins and Paulson have had this year, let’s take a look at their most recent stocks picks: 1) Billionaire Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital has made huge returns on healthcare stocks this year, including a $200 million gain in one day when Humana announced that it was exploring a possible sale, and subsequently exploded higher in value. | Robbins has two new healthcare picks, both of which he has said could double, Abbvie (ABBV) and Brookdale Senior Living (BKD). That’s more than six times the return of the S&P 500. Given the value of following the biggest and best, and given the hot hand that billionaires Tepper, Robbins and Paulson have had this year, let’s take a look at their most recent stocks picks: 1) Billionaire Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital has made huge returns on healthcare stocks this year, including a $200 million gain in one day when Humana announced that it was exploring a possible sale, and subsequently exploded higher in value. |
26911.0 | 2015-06-23 00:00:00 UTC | After Hours Most Active for Jun 23, 2015 : GE, VALE, ITUB, TD, NEM, ABBV, MSFT, QCOM, BRCM, QQQ, SPLS, FOXA | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/after-hours-most-active-jun-23-2015-ge-vale-itub-td-nem-abbv-msft-qcom-brcm-qqq-spls-foxa | nan | nan | The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is up .97 to 4,549.71. The total After hours volume is currently 21,104,020 shares traded.
The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session :
General Electric Company ( GE ) is unchanged at $27.55, with 3,618,673 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for GE is in the "buy range".
VALE S.A. ( VALE ) is unchanged at $6.44, with 2,813,662 shares traded. VALE's current last sale is 107.33% of the target price of $6.
Itau Unibanco Banco Holding SA ( ITUB ) is +0.005 at $11.29, with 2,773,998 shares traded. ITUB's current last sale is 86.81% of the target price of $13.
Toronto Dominion Bank (The) ( TD ) is -0.0957 at $43.80, with 2,430,010 shares traded. TD's current last sale is 94.41% of the target price of $46.4.
Newmont Mining Corporation ( NEM ) is unchanged at $24.13, with 1,867,203 shares traded. NEM's current last sale is 87.75% of the target price of $27.5.
AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is +0.18 at $70.20, with 1,612,022 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range".
Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) is -0.09 at $45.82, with 1,475,340 shares traded. MSFT's current last sale is 86.45% of the target price of $53.
QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is unchanged at $66.98, with 1,117,385 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for QCOM is in the "buy range".
Broadcom Corporation ( BRCM ) is unchanged at $53.66, with 1,104,878 shares traded. BRCM's current last sale is 92.52% of the target price of $58.
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 ( QQQ ) is +0.06 at $110.85, with 992,087 shares traded. This represents a 22.84% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Staples, Inc. ( SPLS ) is unchanged at $16.62, with 894,814 shares traded. SPLS's current last sale is 83.1% of the target price of $20.
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. ( FOXA ) is unchanged at $33.42, with 784,087 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for FOXA is in the "buy range".
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is +0.18 at $70.20, with 1,612,022 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : General Electric Company ( GE ) is unchanged at $27.55, with 3,618,673 shares traded. | The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is +0.18 at $70.20, with 1,612,022 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is +0.18 at $70.20, with 1,612,022 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". VALE S.A. ( VALE ) is unchanged at $6.44, with 2,813,662 shares traded. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is +0.18 at $70.20, with 1,612,022 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is up .97 to 4,549.71. |
26912.0 | 2015-06-22 00:00:00 UTC | After Hours Most Active for Jun 22, 2015 : QCOM, QQQ, ADBE, BAC, GM, AAPL, ABBV, FTR, ORAN, AA, GEVA, IBN | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/after-hours-most-active-jun-22-2015-qcom-qqq-adbe-bac-gm-aapl-abbv-ftr-oran-aa-geva-ibn | nan | nan | The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is down -.79 to 4,543.25. The total After hours volume is currently 24,831,136 shares traded.
The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session :
QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is unchanged at $67.37, with 2,044,339 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for QCOM is in the "buy range".
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 ( QQQ ) is -0.03 at $110.67, with 1,547,231 shares traded. This represents a 22.64% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Adobe Systems Incorporated ( ADBE ) is unchanged at $82.28, with 1,230,138 shares traded., following a 52-week high recorded in today's regular session.
Bank of America Corporation ( BAC ) is unchanged at $17.47, with 1,221,016 shares traded. BAC's current last sale is 94.43% of the target price of $18.5.
General Motors Company ( GM ) is +0.01 at $36.20, with 1,185,371 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for GM is in the "buy range".
Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) is -0.02 at $127.59, with 1,029,875 shares traded. Over the last four weeks they have had 4 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. The consensus EPS forecast is $1.77. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for AAPL is in the "buy range".
AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $70.12, with 904,541 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range".
Frontier Communications Corporation ( FTR ) is unchanged at $5.02, with 815,964 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for FTR is in the "buy range".
Orange ( ORAN ) is unchanged at $16.70, with 792,000 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ORAN is in the "strong buy range".
Alcoa Inc. ( AA ) is -0.0067 at $11.75, with 742,614 shares traded., following a 52-week high recorded in today's regular session.
Synageva BioPharma Corp. ( GEVA ) is unchanged at $238.60, with 721,586 shares traded., following a 52-week high recorded in today's regular session.
ICICI Bank Limited ( IBN ) is unchanged at $10.39, with 698,916 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for IBN is in the "strong buy range".
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $70.12, with 904,541 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is unchanged at $67.37, with 2,044,339 shares traded. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $70.12, with 904,541 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is unchanged at $67.37, with 2,044,339 shares traded. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $70.12, with 904,541 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is unchanged at $67.37, with 2,044,339 shares traded. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $70.12, with 904,541 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is unchanged at $67.37, with 2,044,339 shares traded. |
26913.0 | 2015-06-22 00:00:00 UTC | Where Can Mega-Drug Stock Gilead Sciences Go Now? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/where-can-mega-drug-stock-gilead-sciences-go-now-2015-06-22 | nan | nan | W ith two blockbuster hepatitis C drugs powering sales and profits, Gilead Sciences has become one of the drug industry's hit stocks.Gilead ( GILD ) stock has soared nearly 150% over the last two years, 19% since a new run-up began May 8.
At $178 billion, Gilead's market capitalization is now higher than drug giantMerck 's ( MRK ), even though its revenue is far lower.
"This is the best mega-drug stock in the U.S.," said analyst Mark Schoenebaum of Evercore ISI in a video message to clients last week.
Gilead's hepatitis C single-tablet wonder drug, Harvoni, generated $3.6 billion in product sales in the first three months of 2015, its first full quarter on the market.
Total hep C product sales doubled from a year earlier to $4.6 billion -- making up about 65% of total product sales -- even as Harvoni predecessor Sovaldi saw sales fall to $972 million from $2.3 billion a year earlier.
Harvoni costs about $95,000 for 12 weeks of treatment, though some insurance companies have negotiated discounts.
Patients And Profit
The interferon-free drugs work so well that most patients who take them usually become cured of the liver-destroying virus after a relatively short-term regimen.
That's great for patients. But investors want to know whether and how Gilead will keep up the fast pace of growth if patients "cure out" of the infection and no longer need to take the drugs.
Analysts expect Gilead's hep C sales to peak this year at between $16 billion and $18 billion, mostly for Harvoni, then drop off some and level off over the next few years.
They see earnings growth slowing from a nearly 300% spike in 2014 and an estimated 33% jump this year to 2% next year, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
"The biggest debate on Gilead's stock is what is next," said Phil Nadeau, an analyst with Cowen and Co. "Does it have anything that is capable of driving meaningful growth off of what this year will be $29.5 billion in total revenue? It's not entirely clear."
Gilead followers expect that the firm will acquire either another company or other drugs related to its areas of expertise in HIV/AIDS, liver diseases, oncology, inflammation, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular conditions.
Until its hep C franchise kicked into high gear last year with Sovaldi, Gilead's revenue was mostly driven by its HIV franchise, which includes Viread-based combination pills such as Truvada, Atripla, Stribild and Complera.
Gilead is still a leader in HIV drugs, with about 80% to 90% market share of newly diagnosed patients, says Nadeau. Unlike hep C, patients typically stay on HIV therapies, since there is no known cure.
But Gilead will face some patent losses, namely Viread in 2017 and Truvada a few years later, opening the way for generic competition.
"Gilead has been signaling since April that this is now a good time to deploy capital and do a deal," Schoenebaum said in his video, referring to meetings in which company executives participated.
Gilead has a "fantastic track record" on deals, he said, including its hep C franchise, which came out of its $11 billion acquisition of Pharmasset a few years ago. The hep C drugs were then still in the development stage.
It certainly has the cash to do a new deal. In the first quarter, the firm generated operating cash flow of what JPMorgan analyst Cory Kasimov termed an "unprecedented" $5.7 billion.
"Cash continues to pile up for Gilead, allowing it to be nimble on the strategic front," Kasimov wrote in a client note.
Gilead can deploy capital into developing its pipeline drugs and potentially doing mergers and acquisitions "if we can find the right fit and it would provide additional upside," said company president John Milligan at a recent Goldman Sachs health care conference.
As for a "transformational, later-stage deal," he said that it "depends on the opportunity itself. Those don't come about often and can be competitive."
Meanwhile, Gilead has been aggressively buying back shares, some $3 billion in Q1. It initiated a new $15 billion buyback program in April. And it'll pay its first quarterly cash dividend, of 43 cents per share, on June 29.
HIV Drug Combo Candidates
Gilead is also exploring new combinations of drugs, including those that treat HIV patients, who as they age would benefit from drugs with fewer side effects.
One promising HIV pipeline drug on that front is known as TAF, a follow-on drug to Gilead's HIV flagship Viread. It's expected to launch later this year.
Another drug candidate, known as GS-5745, shows "intriguing early activity" for treating cancer and ulcerative colitis, Milligan says.
GS-5745 will advance directly into phase-three trials for gastric cancer in the third quarter. It could be a "meaningful" rival toEli Lilly 's ( LLY ) Cyramza, noted analyst Michael Yee of RBC Capital Markets. He puts Cyramza's peak sales at around $2 billion.
And it's not as though the hep C franchise will end anytime soon. In the U.S., the virus has infected between 3 million and 4 million people, and only 1.5 million have been diagnosed, says Nadeau.
"We think there should be at least a few years of strong sales in the U.S.," he said. "Gilead is going to treat 250,000 to 300,000 this year," leaving roughly 1 million left to treat.
And then there's the rest of the world, namely the most developed health care markets of Europe and Japan. Gilead is in the early stages of launching Sovaldi in Japan. Harvoni is expected to be approved there this summer.
In Europe, Gilead generated nearly $1 billion in the first quarter from hep C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni.
In his talk at the Goldman Sachs conference, Milligan said that momentum for hep C drugs in Europe is robust due to a "strong political commitment to treat patients."
So far, Gilead has limited competition in the hep C market. Its main rival isAbbVie 's ( ABBV ) Viekira Pak, which launched early this year.
Viekira Pak sales "are a small fraction of Gilead's entire (hep C) franchise," Nadeau said. "Viekira is also very effective. However, it's a little more complicated to use. It requires more pills and has more drug interactions."
Merck recently filed for approval for a hep C regimen, apt to launch in 2016. "It doesn't seem to be quite as potent as Gilead's," Nadeau said.
Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) plans to develop and market hep C drug candidates fromAchillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN). But that process could be "years away," he added.
"We think Gilead will remain the market leader," he said. "Most investors are confident that Gilead's (hep C franchise) will continue to do well through 2017. There's less certainty about 2018 and 2019."
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Its main rival isAbbVie 's ( ABBV ) Viekira Pak, which launched early this year. "The biggest debate on Gilead's stock is what is next," said Phil Nadeau, an analyst with Cowen and Co. "Does it have anything that is capable of driving meaningful growth off of what this year will be $29.5 billion in total revenue? Gilead can deploy capital into developing its pipeline drugs and potentially doing mergers and acquisitions "if we can find the right fit and it would provide additional upside," said company president John Milligan at a recent Goldman Sachs health care conference. | Its main rival isAbbVie 's ( ABBV ) Viekira Pak, which launched early this year. Gilead's hepatitis C single-tablet wonder drug, Harvoni, generated $3.6 billion in product sales in the first three months of 2015, its first full quarter on the market. Total hep C product sales doubled from a year earlier to $4.6 billion -- making up about 65% of total product sales -- even as Harvoni predecessor Sovaldi saw sales fall to $972 million from $2.3 billion a year earlier. | Its main rival isAbbVie 's ( ABBV ) Viekira Pak, which launched early this year. Total hep C product sales doubled from a year earlier to $4.6 billion -- making up about 65% of total product sales -- even as Harvoni predecessor Sovaldi saw sales fall to $972 million from $2.3 billion a year earlier. Analysts expect Gilead's hep C sales to peak this year at between $16 billion and $18 billion, mostly for Harvoni, then drop off some and level off over the next few years. | Its main rival isAbbVie 's ( ABBV ) Viekira Pak, which launched early this year. Gilead is still a leader in HIV drugs, with about 80% to 90% market share of newly diagnosed patients, says Nadeau. It's expected to launch later this year. |
26914.0 | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC | Are Health Insurers Coming Down With a Bad Case of Merger-Mania? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/are-health-insurers-coming-down-bad-case-merger-mania-2015-06-20 | nan | nan | As the Affordable Care Act picks up steam, investors are anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court's decision in King v. Burwell .
When the Supreme Court rules on the legality of paying health insurance subsidies to people who bought their plans through the federal exchange, the insurance space could either become an investor's dream or nightmare. To add to the intrigue, rumors of mega-deals are swirling around top players with market caps upward of $40 billion for the top players. But, as we know, rumors are just rumors. Find out who to back, on today's Industry Focus.
A full transcript follows the video.
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Michael Douglass: Health insurer merger-mania, or at least that's the rumor. This is Industry Focus.
Hi, Fools! Welcome to Wednesday's healthcare edition of Industry Focus. I am your host Michael Douglass, back from a two-week vacation in Italy. Sunny, overly hot Italy. I can you tell you a lot of the places I went to weren't too heavily into air conditioning. So I'm certainly glad to be back in Alexandria, although it was really a wonderful trip. Todd, how did things go while I was gone?
Todd Campbell: Well, we missed you Michael. We're glad to have our world traveler back in his seat.
Douglass: Aw, shucks. You're very kind. How are things in New Hampshire weather-wise, by the way? I would assume it's a bit more temperate.
Campbell: Yeah, beautiful blue skies, about 65/70 today. Ocean water is on schedule to get palatable probably in about another month and a half.
Douglass: Wow. Yeah, in Virginia Beach I'm pretty sure it's already plenty warm enough. All right. Speaking of hot water, actually, let's hop right into the news -- or at least the rumors of the day. Before we get into it, I've got to say first off -- everybody who's listening -- rumors are in fact rumors. I do not personally buy or sell stocks based on rumors, and would recommend you not do the same, particularly on merger and acquisition rumors because even when a merger and acquisition look like they're going to go through, sometimes it doesn't.
Folks who invested in the AbbVie and Shire PLC deal last year certainly found that out to their chagrin, when it ended up falling through. That wasn't even a rumored deal. That was a confirmed deal with everyone in agreement, and then AbbVie pulls out at the last minute. Rumor is several steps more risky than that. So please, please look at the underlying business, look at the investment thesis of the business as a stand-alone, make your decisions based on that, not based on rumors.
That said, some very interesting rumors in health insurance. Todd, we've got UnitedHealth reportedly interested in Aetna , which is reportedly interested in Humana . We've got Anthem , which is reportedly interested in Cigna . Where do we start?
Campbell: I think everybody is going to try and buy everybody. That's basically where we stand right now in the health insurance industry. There is a good, old-fashioned land grab going on here. I don't know how this is all going to shake out. If any of these deals are going to come to fruition, or if this is all a lot of posturing.
Douglass: And these are big, potentially -- again, rumored -- but potentially very large deals. Aetna has a market cap at last check of $43 billion. You can assume pretty safely that any potential deal would have to be offering more money than that. That is a big chunk of change in health care, or really in any industry.
Campbell: Right. Cigna's looking at -- Anthem buys Cigna it's going to be a deal that's north of $45 billion. If UnitedHealth buys Aetna it's going to be north of where we are now at $43 billion. These are huge potential deals, and it would create monstrously large health insurers. But that's what this industry wants. This is a business of scale. It's all about leverage. It's all about low margins and being able to leverage more people against your fixed costs.
If you can get UnitedHealth to buy Aetna and get rid of all the fixed costs that are duplicated, you could free up a lot of money for the bottom line. Traditionally, this is a -- as you know -- mid-single-digit margin business. This is not a technology-oriented business. They act as a middleman between patients and care providers, or drug companies. So the more people that they can have in membership, the easier it gets for them to go negotiate favorable terms with hospitals, with doctors, with drugmakers. Again, this is a play for scale.
Douglass: Yeah. Especially as you have all of these new insured folks coming on the market because of the Affordable Care Act, because of Medicaid expansion. As you have folks shifting into Medicare Advantage plans from traditional Medicare in a lot of cases, you've got these massive opportunities for folks who are willing to strike.
Campbell: Yeah. What I found interesting too is all of this rumor activity is occurring right at the floor of the Supreme Court is set to hand down its findings on the King v. Burwell case, which could impact subsidies. So it's interesting that so much activity is swirling about prior to something that could theoretically pose a hurdle that would have to be overcome for Obamacare.
Douglass: Right. Why do you think that is, Todd?
Campbell: It's hard to say. Who knows? All I know is that you look at these deals and the anatomy that might be behind them, and they're very intriguing. Look at UnitedHealth. UnitedHealth is a goliath already at $35 billion in quarterly revenue. If they were to buy Aetna they would become a $50 billion a quarter company. $200 billion revenue [...]
What's interesting here, too, with the UnitedHealthcare play for Aetna is it would also expand UnitedHealthcare into group life products, into disability products, long term care products. Those products would be a small piece of this much larger pie, but it certainly would help diversify them slightly away from traditional individual market health insurance.
Douglass: Right. If a potential Anthem and Cigna deal were to occur you'd get Cigna's supplemental insurance and their group disability and life businesses added to the Anthem umbrella, which could give them some interesting opportunities.
Campbell: That raises a really good point, too, Michael. You think about these other parts of the business and we had talked about what's going on with the Supreme Court decisions soon. The other thing that's happening in Washington is that we're more likely to see rates go higher over the coming months than lower. For the first time in years we're talking about rate hikes. The reason this is important for investors is because a lot of these insurers have money in short-term, fixed-income instruments. If rates go up, then theoretically you could see earnings benefit from that.
Douglass: That's interesting because usually when we're talking about stocks being affected by rising rates it's to the negative, but if they are able to move into something that's a little bit higher yield for them that could be an opp.
Campbell: You also touched on something else that I wanted to follow up on, which is the demand for Medicare products. You look at the population of baby boomers, and the fact that so many baby boomers are now turning 65, they're more active than they ever were before and they're demanding more healthcare than ever before. Medicare Advantage has become an incredibly important revenue generator for health insurers.
I think we talked about "why would a company be interested in Cigna," and "why would a company be interested in Aetna"; but I think that's what makes Humana so interesting to all of these companies. It's because Humana is such a huge player in Medicare advantage and Part D drug plans. They get the majority of the revenue from that business. So it could be that these insurers are looking at it saying "At some point we're going to reach critical mass from enrollment tied to health care reform. Where else can we grow our business beyond that?" Maybe it's in disability, maybe it's in life, or maybe it's just serving more Medicare customers.
Douglass: Sure. That's a good point. There's always this inherent tension in healthcare, and you see it in pharma and you also see it in insurance, and you see it -- to some extent -- in the hospitals as well, where you have these core areas that are very good at certain things. Pharma, in a lot of ways, has been slimming down to where a lot of these big pharmas are focusing on two or three things that they're really good at, and getting rid of a lot of those "noncore assets."
Whereas here, you might have the potential to actually have some diversification. There are arguments to be made on both sides because on one hand, focusing on what you're good at, theoretically, these are the areas that you're going to make your most money. It's where you're going to have your best margins, where you're going to be able to create some sort of plus compared to your competition.
On the flip side, if something happens that majorly disrupts one of those businesses; that becomes a big issue. That greater diversification can then allow you to plow more money into something where you've been growing your expertise on the side. So there's an argument to be had both ways. With that in mind, of the three rumored potential transactions, which would be the most attractive to you, Todd?
Campbell: That's a toughie. These companies are all intriguing for a lot of reasons. Think about this from the perspective of "where can you free up money if you're the acquirer?" Each one of these companies has returned in the past year or so, about $1 billion just in share buybacks to investors. Theoretically you've got money that can be freed up there. The money that's being paid out in dividends could be freed up.
I think that investors should focus -- instead of trying to pick which is the best one to buy that might be acquired, they should just focus on which one is most likely to benefit from the larger trends that are affecting health insurance. In that case -- for me -- it's going to come down to UnitedHealth and Anthem. How about for you?
Douglass: For me it's got to be Anthem. Of course, to some extent, that depends on what happens in King v. Burwell and with the larger Affordable Care Act story because Anthem, in a lot of ways, is the story of a health insurer that really moved in aggressively on the Affordable Care Act. They've been aggressive in the exchanges, they've been aggressive about benefiting and making sure they're competing for Medicaid expansion. I think they've done a good job of identifying the fact that you are going to see a lot of growth in healthcare tied to the government of one sort or another.
Medicaid, Medicare, whatever the case may be. When you look at the overall trends in healthcare today, I think Anthem's the best prepared of the group. That said, if something transformative happens to the Affordable Care Act I think all bets are off. You have to reevaluate. That's the thing you have to do with any investment thesis. When some key part of it changes, that's when you have to come back and say, "Do I really like this company still? Is this the growth story that I originally invested in, or that I was original confident in?" That's my two cents on Anthem. Todd, I think that's all the time we have today.
But thank you, as always, for your two cents and for sharing your expertise with me and with the broader Motley Fool audience. Folks, check back to Industry Focus every day, or at least every weekday in the future.
As always folks who are involved in Industry Focus may have interest in stocks that they talk about. The Motley Fool may have active recommendations either for, or against stocks that we discuss. So never buy anything based just on what you hear. Thanks much. Fool on!
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Are Health Insurers Coming Down With a Bad Case of Merger-Mania? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Michael Douglass has no position in any stocks mentioned. Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Anthem and UnitedHealth Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Folks who invested in the AbbVie and Shire PLC deal last year certainly found that out to their chagrin, when it ended up falling through. That was a confirmed deal with everyone in agreement, and then AbbVie pulls out at the last minute. As the Affordable Care Act picks up steam, investors are anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court's decision in King v. Burwell . | Folks who invested in the AbbVie and Shire PLC deal last year certainly found that out to their chagrin, when it ended up falling through. That was a confirmed deal with everyone in agreement, and then AbbVie pulls out at the last minute. This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. | Folks who invested in the AbbVie and Shire PLC deal last year certainly found that out to their chagrin, when it ended up falling through. That was a confirmed deal with everyone in agreement, and then AbbVie pulls out at the last minute. If a potential Anthem and Cigna deal were to occur you'd get Cigna's supplemental insurance and their group disability and life businesses added to the Anthem umbrella, which could give them some interesting opportunities. | Folks who invested in the AbbVie and Shire PLC deal last year certainly found that out to their chagrin, when it ended up falling through. That was a confirmed deal with everyone in agreement, and then AbbVie pulls out at the last minute. Michael Douglass: Health insurer merger-mania, or at least that's the rumor. |
26915.0 | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC | Better Buy: Gilead Sciences Inc. or Celgene Corporation? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/better-buy-gilead-sciences-inc-or-celgene-corporation-2015-06-18 | nan | nan | Large-cap biotech companies Gilead Sciences and Celgene Corporation have made fortunes for their long-term investors. Both companies are riding high after producing great revenue and profit growth, and their stocks have smashed the returns of the S&P 500 over the past five years. Gilead has been the clear winner in recent years: Despite Celgene's excellent performance, Gilead's returns have simply been stunning, as the stock has been better than a five-bagger since 2010.
Of course, we should never invest based just on what happened in the past; the future performance of these companies should be what interests investors. Which company is more deserving of your investment dollar from here?
The case for Celgene
Celgene has been able to put up huge revenue and profit growth in recent years, thanks primarily to the massive success of Revlimid, a drug that treats multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Through a combination of Revlimid's success and the strong growth of other cancer-treatment drugs such as Abraxane and Pomalyst (called Imnovid in Europe), Celgene has managed to grow revenue by 20% annually for the past five years. Better yet, that strong revenue growth has been met with increasing margins and a strong share repurchase program, which has catapulted earnings per share at a 27% rate over that same time period.
Gilead's monster revenue growth has caused its earnings multiple to collapse recently, as it currently sits at a P/E of under 14. By comparison, Celgene can hardly be called cheap, as the company is currently trading at more than 38 times trailing earnings.
The Foolish bottom line
While I think either company could make for a great investment at today's prices, I'm more inclined to give Gilead the nod right now . Although the near-term revenue growth for Celgene looks quite strong, Gilead has a more balanced revenue profile, as it isn't quite as reliant on the success of one drug as Celgene is. In addition, the company recently initiated a massive capital-return program that includes paying a small dividend and buying back up to $15 billion worth of stock. When you combine those attributes with the company's smaller price-to-earnings multiple, I think the near-term returns for Gilead may continue to edge out Celgene's, which is why my money is on Gilead.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Better Buy: Gilead Sciences Inc. or Celgene Corporation? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Brian Feroldi has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene, Express Scripts, and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Through a combination of Revlimid's success and the strong growth of other cancer-treatment drugs such as Abraxane and Pomalyst (called Imnovid in Europe), Celgene has managed to grow revenue by 20% annually for the past five years. The Foolish bottom line While I think either company could make for a great investment at today's prices, I'm more inclined to give Gilead the nod right now . In addition, the company recently initiated a massive capital-return program that includes paying a small dividend and buying back up to $15 billion worth of stock. | Large-cap biotech companies Gilead Sciences and Celgene Corporation have made fortunes for their long-term investors. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene, Express Scripts, and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. | Gilead has been the clear winner in recent years: Despite Celgene's excellent performance, Gilead's returns have simply been stunning, as the stock has been better than a five-bagger since 2010. The case for Celgene Celgene has been able to put up huge revenue and profit growth in recent years, thanks primarily to the massive success of Revlimid, a drug that treats multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Although the near-term revenue growth for Celgene looks quite strong, Gilead has a more balanced revenue profile, as it isn't quite as reliant on the success of one drug as Celgene is. | Both companies are riding high after producing great revenue and profit growth, and their stocks have smashed the returns of the S&P 500 over the past five years. Although the near-term revenue growth for Celgene looks quite strong, Gilead has a more balanced revenue profile, as it isn't quite as reliant on the success of one drug as Celgene is. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. |
26916.0 | 2015-06-15 00:00:00 UTC | iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF Experiences Big Outflow | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/ishares-us-healthcare-etf-experiences-big-outflow-2015-06-15 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (Symbol: IYH) where we have detected an approximate $71.1 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.9% decrease week over week (from 15,750,000 to 15,300,000). Among the largest underlying components of IYH, in trading today Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Symbol: GILD) is off about 0.5%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 0.8%, and Medtronic PLC (Symbol: MDT) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the IYH Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of IYH, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, IYH's low point in its 52 week range is $124.28 per share, with $160.54 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $156.82. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of IYH, in trading today Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Symbol: GILD) is off about 0.5%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 0.8%, and Medtronic PLC (Symbol: MDT) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the IYH Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of IYH, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, IYH's low point in its 52 week range is $124.28 per share, with $160.54 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $156.82. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of IYH, in trading today Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Symbol: GILD) is off about 0.5%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 0.8%, and Medtronic PLC (Symbol: MDT) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the IYH Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of IYH, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, IYH's low point in its 52 week range is $124.28 per share, with $160.54 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $156.82. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of IYH, in trading today Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Symbol: GILD) is off about 0.5%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 0.8%, and Medtronic PLC (Symbol: MDT) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (Symbol: IYH) where we have detected an approximate $71.1 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.9% decrease week over week (from 15,750,000 to 15,300,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the IYH Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of IYH, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, IYH's low point in its 52 week range is $124.28 per share, with $160.54 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $156.82. | Among the largest underlying components of IYH, in trading today Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Symbol: GILD) is off about 0.5%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is down about 0.8%, and Medtronic PLC (Symbol: MDT) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the IYH Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of IYH, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, IYH's low point in its 52 week range is $124.28 per share, with $160.54 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $156.82. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). |
26917.0 | 2015-06-13 00:00:00 UTC | Why I'm Shorting Biotech | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-im-shorting-biotech-2015-06-13 | nan | nan | Biotech and biopharma have had an incredible run over the past few years. And like many investors, I've been able to crush the broader markets simply by buying and holding top names in the industry like AbbVie , Gilead Sciences , and Isis Pharmaceuticals .
An odd thought, however, keeps popping up in my mind as I look over my rocket-fueled biotech portfolio these days. Namely, why aren't stocks like Gilead doing even better?
Although this leading biotech stock is up a stately 21% so far this year, I've become so accustomed to rapid-fire increases in share price with this company that such an eye-popping gain is no longer good enough. A quick look at the headlines surrounding this stock suggests that I'm far from alone in holding this ridiculous notion.
The sheer silliness of this expectation, along with fact that it's become pervasive throughout the investing community of late, led me to a frightening realization. Namely, the biotech blowout party looks like it's likely about to come to an abrupt and painful end. And although timing the market perfectly is impossible, I believe now might be a good time to cut back on long positions and, dare I say it, start shorting biotech.
Though there are bound to be many single companies that will continue to deliver strong returns, here's a look at my three major reasons for shorting this currently high-flying industry.
Reason No. 1: The rate of innovation is starting to hit a wall
One of the main reasons biotech has exploded higher is because the industry has been undergoing an innovation boom, leading to the advent of breakthrough therapies for hepatitis C, HIV, high cholesterol, and even cancer. What most investors aren't aware of, though, is that this golden age of biotech and biopharma took decades to achieve.
Given that what goes up must come down -- even high-flying biotechs -- it stands to reason that the biotech surge can't go on forever. And in light of the dark clouds currently forming around the industry, I think that time is nigh.
Key takeaways
Biotech has been one of the best-performing industries for a while now. But the confluence of a slowing rate of innovation in the broad sense (entirely new classes of drugs being discovered), and pricing pressures emanating from the payer side of the healthcare equation, have the potential to weigh this group down for a long time to come.
The headwinds for Gilead already appear to be taking their toll on the biotech's share price. After all, the market is no longer willing to pay a premium for its earnings, and other key biotechs like Celgene are starting to experience a similar level of disinterest from the Street. And although the market is nothing if not unpredictable, I personally think we're looking at the start of an emerging trend reversal in biotech, making now a good time to get short.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... but you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Why I'm Shorting Biotech originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | And like many investors, I've been able to crush the broader markets simply by buying and holding top names in the industry like AbbVie , Gilead Sciences , and Isis Pharmaceuticals . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. Although this leading biotech stock is up a stately 21% so far this year, I've become so accustomed to rapid-fire increases in share price with this company that such an eye-popping gain is no longer good enough. | George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. And like many investors, I've been able to crush the broader markets simply by buying and holding top names in the industry like AbbVie , Gilead Sciences , and Isis Pharmaceuticals . The Motley Fool recommends Celgene, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. | And like many investors, I've been able to crush the broader markets simply by buying and holding top names in the industry like AbbVie , Gilead Sciences , and Isis Pharmaceuticals . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. And although timing the market perfectly is impossible, I believe now might be a good time to cut back on long positions and, dare I say it, start shorting biotech. | And like many investors, I've been able to crush the broader markets simply by buying and holding top names in the industry like AbbVie , Gilead Sciences , and Isis Pharmaceuticals . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. Namely, why aren't stocks like Gilead doing even better? |
26918.0 | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC | 3 Things AbbVie Inc.'s Management Wants You to Know | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/3-things-abbvie-incs-management-wants-you-know-2015-06-11 | nan | nan | In January 2013, healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories made the decision to split itself into two separately traded public companies, keeping its original name and ticker and adding AbbVie to the investable universe.
While investors who held on to either company since the split have benefited, as both companies have outperformed the averages, AbbVie has really been a home-run investment and has more than doubled the S&P 500 's return over that time period.
On AbbVie's most recent quarterly investor conference call, CEO Rick Gonzalez had a lot of great information to share with investors. Here are three takeaways from the call that are worth knowing.
1. Pharmacyclics will be accretive by 2017
In March 2015, AbbVie made a huge $21 billion offer to acquire biopharmaceutical company Pharmacyclics in an effort to expand its presence in the oncology market and in particular to get its hands on cancer drug Imbruvica. The deal closed in May and should be a big driver of growth for the company in the years to come. A key benefit of the deal is that it will help to diversify Abbvie's revenue base away from its reliance on their blockbuster drug Humira, which is set to lose patent protection in the U.S. in December 2016 and in the EU in 2018. Here's what management had to say about how the Pharmacyclics deal will impact AbbVie's financial statements in the years to come:
2. Humira will drive cash flow for years to come
Blockbuster drug Humira was responsible for producing 63% of AbbVie's revenue in 2014. However, with the patent for Humira set to expire in the not-so-distant future, investors have lots of questions about what the impact to revenue and earnings will be when the patent officially expires. Amgen has already made it known that is they consider Humira to be a great candidate for a biosimilar, which is essentially a generic version of a biologic drug. Management, however, is confident that they have hundreds of patents related to the formulation, manufacturing, and indications of Humira, and they will use their intellectual property to defend Humira wherever they can.
3. Hepatitis C drug Viekira Pak will be a big contributor to revenue for the year
AbbVie recently launched a hepatitis C regimen, Viekira Pak, in the United States following FDA approval in mid-December. The drug faces some tough competition from Gilead Sciences ' blockbuster drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni, which may make it difficult for AbbVie's treatment to gain traction. First quarter results for Viekira Pak came in at $231 million worldwide, with only $138 million of that total coming from the U.S. Analysts were expecting sales of $236 million in the U.S. alone, so the drug appears to be off to slower-than-expected start.
Despite the disappointing early results, management actually remains very optimistic for Viekira Pak sales this year, forecasting well over blockbuster status by year end. Here's why:
Looking ahead, analysts see AbbVie continuing to grow its bottom line over the next five years by more than 14%, which makes the company's forward price-to-earnings multiple of 14 look quite reasonable. When you add in the company's generous dividend, which currently yields more than 3%, I'd say AbbVie looks like quite a compelling investment opportunity.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... but you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article 3 Things AbbVie Inc.'s Management Wants You to Know originally appeared on Fool.com.
Brian Feroldi has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | In January 2013, healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories made the decision to split itself into two separately traded public companies, keeping its original name and ticker and adding AbbVie to the investable universe. A key benefit of the deal is that it will help to diversify Abbvie's revenue base away from its reliance on their blockbuster drug Humira, which is set to lose patent protection in the U.S. in December 2016 and in the EU in 2018. Here's why: Looking ahead, analysts see AbbVie continuing to grow its bottom line over the next five years by more than 14%, which makes the company's forward price-to-earnings multiple of 14 look quite reasonable. | Hepatitis C drug Viekira Pak will be a big contributor to revenue for the year AbbVie recently launched a hepatitis C regimen, Viekira Pak, in the United States following FDA approval in mid-December. The drug faces some tough competition from Gilead Sciences ' blockbuster drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni, which may make it difficult for AbbVie's treatment to gain traction. In January 2013, healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories made the decision to split itself into two separately traded public companies, keeping its original name and ticker and adding AbbVie to the investable universe. | On AbbVie's most recent quarterly investor conference call, CEO Rick Gonzalez had a lot of great information to share with investors. Humira will drive cash flow for years to come Blockbuster drug Humira was responsible for producing 63% of AbbVie's revenue in 2014. Hepatitis C drug Viekira Pak will be a big contributor to revenue for the year AbbVie recently launched a hepatitis C regimen, Viekira Pak, in the United States following FDA approval in mid-December. | Here's what management had to say about how the Pharmacyclics deal will impact AbbVie's financial statements in the years to come: 2. Humira will drive cash flow for years to come Blockbuster drug Humira was responsible for producing 63% of AbbVie's revenue in 2014. In January 2013, healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories made the decision to split itself into two separately traded public companies, keeping its original name and ticker and adding AbbVie to the investable universe. |
26919.0 | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC | Merck (MRK) Presents Multiple Biosimilar and Diabetes Data - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/merck-mrk-presents-multiple-biosimilar-and-diabetes-data-analyst-blog-2015-06-11 | nan | nan | The week so far has been quite busy for Merck & Co. Inc.MRK with the company presenting data on its experimental biosimilar candidates as well as diabetes drug, Januvia, at a couple of scientific meetings.
Biosimilar Data Unveiled
Merck and its partner Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. presented positive results from phase I and pivotal phase III studies on their experimental biosimilar versions of Amgen's AMGN Enbrel, Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Remicade and AbbVie's ABBV Humira. These drugs are approved for rheumatoid arthritis and certain other indications in the U.S. and EU. Data were presented at the annual meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism.
Two randomized, double-blind, parallel group, multicenter studies evaluated the efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity of SB4 (biosimilar Enbrel) and SB2 (biosimilar Remicade) as compared to their originator products, in adult patients suffering from moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis who have already undergone methotrexate therapy. Both SB4 and SB2 met their primary endpoints in terms of the American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20) response rate at weeks 24 and 30, respectively.
While SB4 demonstrated a 78.1% response rate versus originator Enbrel's 80.3% response at week 24 of treatment, SB2 achieved a 64.1% response versus originator Remicade's 66% response at week 30 of treatment.
Samsung Bioepis also presented results from three randomized, single-blind, three-arm, parallel group phase I studies on SB4, SB2 and SB5 (biosimilar Humira). Results showed equivalent safety and pharmacokinetic profiles as compared to their respective originator products.
We remind investors that Merck and Samsung Bioepis had entered into a collaboration in Feb 2013 to develop and commercialize multiple biosimilar candidates in certain partnered territories. They are collaborating on biosimilars of five of the best-selling biologics in the world, namely Enbrel, Remicade, Humira, Herceptin and Lantus. All are in phase III development with regulatory applications expected to be filed across the world between 2015 and 2016.
We note that pharmaceutical and biotech companies are racing to develop biosimilars, which is expected to be a highly lucrative market. The first biosimilar, Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), a biosimilar version of Amgen's blockbuster drug, Neupogen (filgrastim), has already gained approval in the U.S.
Januvia Meets Primary Endpoint
Earlier this week, Merck also announced primary results from a placebo-controlled cardiovascular (CV) safety study (TECOS - Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with Sitagliptin) on its DPP-4 inhibitor, Januvia (sitagliptin). Januvia is approved for the treatment of adults with type II diabetes.
Results showed that patients when treated with Januvia did not report an increase in major adverse CV events thereby meeting the primary composite endpoint of the study. Additionally, there was no increase in hospitalization for heart failure in the Januvia group as compared to placebo. Data were presented at the American Diabetes Association and were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine .
Merck currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Amgen is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Biosimilar Data Unveiled Merck and its partner Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. presented positive results from phase I and pivotal phase III studies on their experimental biosimilar versions of Amgen's AMGN Enbrel, Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Remicade and AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Click to get this free report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The week so far has been quite busy for Merck & Co. Inc.MRK with the company presenting data on its experimental biosimilar candidates as well as diabetes drug, Januvia, at a couple of scientific meetings. | Biosimilar Data Unveiled Merck and its partner Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. presented positive results from phase I and pivotal phase III studies on their experimental biosimilar versions of Amgen's AMGN Enbrel, Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Remicade and AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Click to get this free report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. While SB4 demonstrated a 78.1% response rate versus originator Enbrel's 80.3% response at week 24 of treatment, SB2 achieved a 64.1% response versus originator Remicade's 66% response at week 30 of treatment. | Biosimilar Data Unveiled Merck and its partner Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. presented positive results from phase I and pivotal phase III studies on their experimental biosimilar versions of Amgen's AMGN Enbrel, Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Remicade and AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Click to get this free report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The first biosimilar, Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), a biosimilar version of Amgen's blockbuster drug, Neupogen (filgrastim), has already gained approval in the U.S. Januvia Meets Primary Endpoint Earlier this week, Merck also announced primary results from a placebo-controlled cardiovascular (CV) safety study (TECOS - Trial Evaluating Cardiovascular Outcomes with Sitagliptin) on its DPP-4 inhibitor, Januvia (sitagliptin). | Biosimilar Data Unveiled Merck and its partner Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. presented positive results from phase I and pivotal phase III studies on their experimental biosimilar versions of Amgen's AMGN Enbrel, Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Remicade and AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Click to get this free report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The week so far has been quite busy for Merck & Co. Inc.MRK with the company presenting data on its experimental biosimilar candidates as well as diabetes drug, Januvia, at a couple of scientific meetings. |
26920.0 | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC | Why Drugmaker AbbVie Can Power Past Patent Expiration | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-drugmaker-abbvie-can-power-past-patent-expiration-2015-06-11 | nan | nan | T hough facing patent expirations on its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug in 2016, pharmaceutical powerhouse AbbVie says that it can defend Humira from generic challengers -- potentially for years.
In the meantime,AbbVie ( ABBV ) clinched a $21 billion acquisition in May that, it says, diversifies and bolsters its pipeline of future prescriptions. Drugs in the pipeline could stand in when there's an eventual decline in Humira sales.
The North Chicago, Ill.-based drugmaker is also riding a wave of strong earnings. Most recently, in April, it reported a double-digit advance in sales. It posted adjusted first-quarter earnings per share of 94 cents, up 32% from a year earlier, on sales of $5.04 billion, up more than 10%.
Sales of Humira climbed 18% and made up more than 60% of overall revenue.
AbbVie boasts a three-year EPS growth rate of 11%. It is among the top-ranked companies in IBD's Medical-Ethical Drugs group, with a Composite Rating of 96.Valeant Pharmaceuticals International ( VRX ) has the highest in the group, a best-possible 99.
Also in April, AbbVie raised its adjusted EPS estimate for the full year to a range of $4.10 to $4.30, up from its previous guidance of $4.05 to $4.25, thanks to strong momentum in Humira sales and gains in other drugs, including higher sales of cancer drug Lupron and thyroid-disorder drug Synthroid.
Humira At The Helm
Over the past 2 1/2 years, Humira has grown from a $9 billion product to one that generates up to $14 billion in a year, AbbVie says, thanks to gains in both prices and sales volume. About 40% of Humira sales are generated outside of the U.S. As populations age in developed countries, demand for drugs that treat common ailments such as arthritis is steadily mounting, analysts say.
AbbVie stock has risen by 27% over the past 12 months and is up 21% from an April dip, though it's ahead only about 4% for the year to date -- held in check by Humira patent-expiration worries, analysts say.
"That's the key pressure on the stock," Morningstar analyst Damien Conover told IBD.
AbbVie is slated to lose certain patent protections on Humira at the end of 2016, making it vulnerable to generic challengers that are eager to introduce so-called biosimilars, or lower-cost versions of the name-brand drug.
Morningstar estimates that AbbVie could lose up to 15% of its Humira sales annually, beginning in 2017, should producers of biosimilars be allowed to move in and take share. Conover said that several competitors are working on biosimilar versions of Humira, notably including rivalAmgen ( AMGN ), which has developed a version that, it has said, it could start selling in 2017.
AbbVie executives, however, say that in addition to patents on the finished drug itself, the company has hundreds of other patents globally that cover the formulation and manufacturing of Humira that it can use to legally challenge the introduction of biosimilars, likely delaying the onset of competitive pressure for several years. These patents do not begin to expire until 2022.
During a call with analysts to discuss first-quarter results, CEO Richard Gonzalez said, "We have a robust portfolio of intellectual property protecting Humira, which we intend to enforce if infringed by a biosimilar applicant." The company, he added, expects Humira "to drive strong growth and significant cash-flow generation for many years."
Gonzalez says that AbbVie is also braced for a worst-case scenario, in which a competitor can begin selling a biosimilar as early as 2017. He said that AbbVie would trim costs to keep expenses in line with revenue and protect the bottom line as sales of Humira decline.
Acquisitions And Expansion
Meanwhile, AbbVie has moved with haste to diversify its offerings and buttress its pipeline.
This year, for example, it began selling Viekira Pak, a treatment for hepatitis C that pulled in sales of more than $230 million during the first quarter. Gonzalez said during the earnings call that he expects Viekira to generate an annualized run rate of more than $3 billion in global sales by the end of 2015.
The company also jumped on the M&A path this year, closing the $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics in May. The deal gives AbbVie rights to Imbruvica, a drug that treats blood cancer. AbbVie said in a news release announcing the deal's closing that the treatment of blood cancer is a $24 billion global market.
Analysts say that AbbVie also has several drugs in the making that span its areas of expertise: virology, immunology, neurology and oncology. In oncology alone, Gonzalez says, AbbVie has five drugs poised to launch over the next few years. They will complement Imbruvica, he says, and will help the company grow share in the blood-cancer treatment arena.
"They've got a great pipeline," Morningstar's Conover said. "That should mitigate the patent headwind."
More dealmaking, too, could follow and help add to AbbVie's product lineup.
"You can either build it or you can buy it, and in the case of a company with important patents expiring, it will look to buy that growth in order to get ahead of what could otherwise be a declining revenue stream," Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank and an observer of the prescription-drug industry, told IBD.
An AbbVie spokeswoman did not respond to IBD's interview request. While speaking at a conference in May, AbbVie CFO Bill Chase told investors that another deal in the $20 billion range was not likely in the near term. But he said that the company continues to look for "tuck-in" deals that would help further complement its existing pipeline.
AbbVie, Chase said, is not "turning off the M&A engine," but it is "much more likely" to pursue "the sorts of transactions that we have done since 2009 onward, which were largely single-asset additions to our pipeline."
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | T hough facing patent expirations on its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug in 2016, pharmaceutical powerhouse AbbVie says that it can defend Humira from generic challengers -- potentially for years. AbbVie is slated to lose certain patent protections on Humira at the end of 2016, making it vulnerable to generic challengers that are eager to introduce so-called biosimilars, or lower-cost versions of the name-brand drug. In the meantime,AbbVie ( ABBV ) clinched a $21 billion acquisition in May that, it says, diversifies and bolsters its pipeline of future prescriptions. | Also in April, AbbVie raised its adjusted EPS estimate for the full year to a range of $4.10 to $4.30, up from its previous guidance of $4.05 to $4.25, thanks to strong momentum in Humira sales and gains in other drugs, including higher sales of cancer drug Lupron and thyroid-disorder drug Synthroid. T hough facing patent expirations on its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug in 2016, pharmaceutical powerhouse AbbVie says that it can defend Humira from generic challengers -- potentially for years. In the meantime,AbbVie ( ABBV ) clinched a $21 billion acquisition in May that, it says, diversifies and bolsters its pipeline of future prescriptions. | Also in April, AbbVie raised its adjusted EPS estimate for the full year to a range of $4.10 to $4.30, up from its previous guidance of $4.05 to $4.25, thanks to strong momentum in Humira sales and gains in other drugs, including higher sales of cancer drug Lupron and thyroid-disorder drug Synthroid. Humira At The Helm Over the past 2 1/2 years, Humira has grown from a $9 billion product to one that generates up to $14 billion in a year, AbbVie says, thanks to gains in both prices and sales volume. AbbVie executives, however, say that in addition to patents on the finished drug itself, the company has hundreds of other patents globally that cover the formulation and manufacturing of Humira that it can use to legally challenge the introduction of biosimilars, likely delaying the onset of competitive pressure for several years. | Humira At The Helm Over the past 2 1/2 years, Humira has grown from a $9 billion product to one that generates up to $14 billion in a year, AbbVie says, thanks to gains in both prices and sales volume. T hough facing patent expirations on its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug in 2016, pharmaceutical powerhouse AbbVie says that it can defend Humira from generic challengers -- potentially for years. In the meantime,AbbVie ( ABBV ) clinched a $21 billion acquisition in May that, it says, diversifies and bolsters its pipeline of future prescriptions. |
26921.0 | 2015-06-10 00:00:00 UTC | Happy Birthday To Us! Market Musings Is Two Years Old Today! | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/happy-birthday-us-market-musings-two-years-old-today-2015-06-10 | nan | nan | Exactly two years ago today the first Market Musings piece appeared on these pages. The idea at the time was to offer a daily take on financial markets that educated, enlightened and entertained. I will let you, the readers, be the judges of how well that has been achieved, but after over 500 attempts I guess any failings you may perceive can’t be blamed on lack of practice! Looking back, what is interesting to me is that, no matter what markets I have covered or what individual stocks I have written about over those two years, a few themes emerge. They basically fall into two categories: avoiding common mistakes and spotting opportunities.
In the avoiding common mistakes category I have tried to use my nearly twenty years of dealing room experience to point out to readers the differences in approach between those who pay brokerage fees to trade on their own account and those who are paid a salary to trade other people’s money. There are several, but the most noticeable to me when I began talking to traders in the former group was the focus of the trade, even before any action is taken. Those who pay to trade tend to focus on entry points, while those that are paid to do so are more concerned with exits.
Think about it; we have all met, or you may even be one of, those people who believe that they have found some kind of magic signal that tells them when the price of something is about to go up or down. That is hardly surprising; there is a whole industry dedicated to making you believe that such a magic trading formula exists. The problem is, it doesn’t. Over time, the successful traders on the inside of financial markets are those that understand this, and plan accordingly.
Once a position is established it can move in your favor or against you. The only way to survive in the long term is to assume that no matter how good you think you or your system are, both are equally likely. That understanding inevitably leads to protecting against the worst case scenario by setting stop losses, but it also changes the way you evaluate a trade. Success then becomes about making more on your winners than you lose on your losers. If the logical profit target is not significantly more than you stand to lose if those stops are hit, you don’t take the trade no matter what.
Setting those stops as short term protection, however, doesn’t mean that equity investors should be selling out on every dip, another common mistake. One of the things that I am most proud of over the last two years is that I have been consistent in viewing the dips and corrections that have come during that time as buying opportunities. We weren’t even two weeks into Market Musings before the first time that advice was offered, and it was repeated here and here, among others. With hindsight it didn’t take a genius to point out that a couple of imported cases of Ebola weren’t a good reason to sell stocks, but at the time that didn’t seem to be the prevailing view.
When it has come to spotting opportunities I have also drawn on dealing room experience and something that floor traders instinctively understand, even as they are part of the problem…markets usually overreact. There are a lot of examples over the last two years where I have pointed out that tendency, such as when the inversion deal between Shire PLC (SHPG) and Abbvie (ABBV) fell through and SHPG collapsed. I wrote that readers should be buying on the resulting drop. Over the next 6 months, SHPG gained over 65 percent.
I have remained consistent on certain other, longer term overreactions too. The “once bitten, twice shy” attitude of funds and large investors to Apple (AAPL) throughout most of last year, for example, led to the ridiculous situation of the most successful company in the world trading at a discount to the broader market. Even back in March of last year, the absurdity of that was apparent. The best opportunities, of course, come from when overreaction, global forces and a focus on exits all suggest the same trade, such as when I wrote in January that Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) looked set for a short term pop. The stock gained over 50 percent in the next couple of months.
There are many more examples of trades that worked out and, I am sure, also examples of when I have got things horribly wrong. Hopefully though, if you have got the message about protecting against losses none of them has done any serious damage. If all of this sounds a bit self-congratulatory or dangerously close to bragging it is probably because it is both, but I would beg your forgiveness. It has been immensely enjoyable, if not always easy, to find a different topic to write about every day for the last two years, and I am unashamedly proud of having done that, while still, hopefully giving some useful advice. I am, therefore, thankful to Nasdaq.com for giving me the opportunity, but most of all thankful to you, the readers. Without you the last two years of effort would have been a bit pointless. Here’s to the next two years!
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | There are a lot of examples over the last two years where I have pointed out that tendency, such as when the inversion deal between Shire PLC (SHPG) and Abbvie (ABBV) fell through and SHPG collapsed. The “once bitten, twice shy” attitude of funds and large investors to Apple (AAPL) throughout most of last year, for example, led to the ridiculous situation of the most successful company in the world trading at a discount to the broader market. The best opportunities, of course, come from when overreaction, global forces and a focus on exits all suggest the same trade, such as when I wrote in January that Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) looked set for a short term pop. | There are a lot of examples over the last two years where I have pointed out that tendency, such as when the inversion deal between Shire PLC (SHPG) and Abbvie (ABBV) fell through and SHPG collapsed. They basically fall into two categories: avoiding common mistakes and spotting opportunities. In the avoiding common mistakes category I have tried to use my nearly twenty years of dealing room experience to point out to readers the differences in approach between those who pay brokerage fees to trade on their own account and those who are paid a salary to trade other people’s money. | There are a lot of examples over the last two years where I have pointed out that tendency, such as when the inversion deal between Shire PLC (SHPG) and Abbvie (ABBV) fell through and SHPG collapsed. In the avoiding common mistakes category I have tried to use my nearly twenty years of dealing room experience to point out to readers the differences in approach between those who pay brokerage fees to trade on their own account and those who are paid a salary to trade other people’s money. One of the things that I am most proud of over the last two years is that I have been consistent in viewing the dips and corrections that have come during that time as buying opportunities. | There are a lot of examples over the last two years where I have pointed out that tendency, such as when the inversion deal between Shire PLC (SHPG) and Abbvie (ABBV) fell through and SHPG collapsed. Setting those stops as short term protection, however, doesn’t mean that equity investors should be selling out on every dip, another common mistake. One of the things that I am most proud of over the last two years is that I have been consistent in viewing the dips and corrections that have come during that time as buying opportunities. |
26922.0 | 2015-06-06 00:00:00 UTC | The Highest Paid CEOs in Pharma | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/highest-paid-ceos-pharma-2015-06-06 | nan | nan | Source: Pfizer via Facebook.
The pharmaceuticals industry is often one of the most sought-after investments for income investors, primarily because of the lofty dividend yields that can often be found among the couple of dozen companies that make up the industry.
Of the 13 Big Pharma giants with a market valuation of $50 billion or more at the end of last week, all but two paid at least a 2.2% yield. For added context, the S&P 500 collectively has a yield closer to 2%, meaning the pharma sector tends to trounce the broader market index in terms of yield.
Although Big Pharma product portfolios are often very deep and well-established, as are their pipelines, they're also facing an unprecedented number of patent expirations, which have challenged the growth prospects for quite a few of these pharma giants. This has given Big Pharma management teams even more reason to focus on shareholder incentives, such as dividends and share buybacks, to keep investors happy.
The highest paid CEOs in pharma
However, Big Pharma's recent struggles with losses of exclusivity also make investors question whether the pay of CEOs in the pharma industry has gotten out of control.
Last year, according to aggregated data from The New York Times which used filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission to compute CEO compensation, four of the highest-paid CEOs in pharma saw their pay increase. Are these pay package increases merited? Let's find out.
Based on the data, these are the five highest-paid CEOs in pharma:
Source: The New York Times .
With the exception of AbbVie's chief Richard Gonzalez, all four CEOs saw their pay increase in 2014, with Bristol-Myers' chief Lamberto Andreotti, Merck's head Kenneth Frazier, and Johnson & Johnson's leader Alex Gorsky seeing substantial compensation increases.
J&J CEO Alex Gorsky. Source: Johnson & Johnson.
One major difference from smaller drug developers
Perhaps the biggest standout of the compensation data above relative to the pay structure of biotech CEOs and other smaller drug developers is just how reliant pay is on stock options. Biotech companies tend to reward their CEOs heavily with stock options, whereas Big Pharma CEOs are often rewarded with common stock, tying their interests immediately and directly with that of their shareholders. If pharma CEOs want a raise, they need to do nothing more than push their company's share price higher through outstanding operational results, and deliver a robust dividend.
Bristol CEO Lamberto Andreotti. Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Andreotti at Bristol-Myers Squibb, for instance, was the highest-paid CEO in pharma, but he didn't receive a cent in stock options in 2014 (or 2013 for that matter). Slightly more than $18 million of Andreotti's pay was awarded as Bristol-Myers' common stock, while he also walked away toting a handsome $5.6 million bonus.
Of course, Andreotti isn't alone. Merck's Frazier received $13 million of his $21.4 million in common stock, nearly $9.5 million of Gorsky's $20.4 million at Johnson & Johnson came from shares of his company's stock, and close to half of Gonzalez's pay at AbbVie was derived from common stock awards. Pfizer's Ian Read might be the oddball of the group, with "only" 35% of his pay coming from common stock awards.
Is this pay deserved?
On one hand, it's hard to argue against the 2014 results for four of these companies. The S&P 500 rose by 11.4% last year, while Bristol-Myers, Merck, J&J, and AbbVie saw their share price increase by 14%, 17%, 17%, and 27%, respectively. Pfizer was the laggard of the group, with a share price appreciation of only 5%.
Additionally, tying the performance and interests of a CEO with that of his or her shareholders is generally a smart move. It gives CEOs added incentive to ensure their companies remains on track, and it gives a CEO added fire to improve dividend payouts on a year-over-year basis.
Pfizer CEO Ian Read. Source: Pfizer.
But, rising and/or lofty pay in the wake of a sea of patent expirations may not make sense for a few of these companies. For instance, Ian Read's pay increase of only 2% in 2014 may not seem like much, and investors have certainly been willing to overlook his generous compensation package thanks to a 125% increase in Pfizer's share price over the last five years. However, what's not easy to overlook is the midpoint of Pfizer's revenue guidance in 2015 of $45 billion. This is close to $23 billion less in sales than Pfizer generated in 2010, and is a direct result of the negative effects of patent exclusivity losses. With minimal growth prospects on the horizon, I personally have a difficult time justifying Read's compensation package.
The same could be said for Ken Frazier at Merck, whose pay rose by a meteoric 72% in 2014, including a substantial increase in his stock awards and a doubling in his bonus. However, the underlying fundamentals tell an entirely different story. Merck's sales shrank by 4% in 2014, its third straight year of declines, while its free cash flow was nearly halved on a year-over-year basis to just $5.5 billion. The only reason Merck saw an enormous jump in its profitability last year was due to the divestiture of its consumer care business for $11.2 billion -- a one-time gain. I'd hardly qualify this group of data as justification for a 72% pay hike.
Conversely, Alex Gorsky appears to be worth every penny, as J&J's profitability keeps motoring higher thanks to the introduction of more than a dozen new pharmaceutical products since 2009. The cornerstone to success for Johnson & Johnson is healthy growth from its pharmaceuticals business, which provides much better margins than its consumer health or medical device operations.
J&J may not be able to keep pace with high-flying growth stocks in a bull market, but its 53-year streak of dividend increases and better than 30-year streak of EPS growth makes it and Gorsky winners in my book.
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The article The Highest Paid CEOs in Pharma originally appeared on Fool.com.
Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong , track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong , and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong .The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Johnson & Johnson and Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | With the exception of AbbVie's chief Richard Gonzalez, all four CEOs saw their pay increase in 2014, with Bristol-Myers' chief Lamberto Andreotti, Merck's head Kenneth Frazier, and Johnson & Johnson's leader Alex Gorsky seeing substantial compensation increases. Merck's Frazier received $13 million of his $21.4 million in common stock, nearly $9.5 million of Gorsky's $20.4 million at Johnson & Johnson came from shares of his company's stock, and close to half of Gonzalez's pay at AbbVie was derived from common stock awards. The S&P 500 rose by 11.4% last year, while Bristol-Myers, Merck, J&J, and AbbVie saw their share price increase by 14%, 17%, 17%, and 27%, respectively. | With the exception of AbbVie's chief Richard Gonzalez, all four CEOs saw their pay increase in 2014, with Bristol-Myers' chief Lamberto Andreotti, Merck's head Kenneth Frazier, and Johnson & Johnson's leader Alex Gorsky seeing substantial compensation increases. Merck's Frazier received $13 million of his $21.4 million in common stock, nearly $9.5 million of Gorsky's $20.4 million at Johnson & Johnson came from shares of his company's stock, and close to half of Gonzalez's pay at AbbVie was derived from common stock awards. The S&P 500 rose by 11.4% last year, while Bristol-Myers, Merck, J&J, and AbbVie saw their share price increase by 14%, 17%, 17%, and 27%, respectively. | With the exception of AbbVie's chief Richard Gonzalez, all four CEOs saw their pay increase in 2014, with Bristol-Myers' chief Lamberto Andreotti, Merck's head Kenneth Frazier, and Johnson & Johnson's leader Alex Gorsky seeing substantial compensation increases. Merck's Frazier received $13 million of his $21.4 million in common stock, nearly $9.5 million of Gorsky's $20.4 million at Johnson & Johnson came from shares of his company's stock, and close to half of Gonzalez's pay at AbbVie was derived from common stock awards. The S&P 500 rose by 11.4% last year, while Bristol-Myers, Merck, J&J, and AbbVie saw their share price increase by 14%, 17%, 17%, and 27%, respectively. | With the exception of AbbVie's chief Richard Gonzalez, all four CEOs saw their pay increase in 2014, with Bristol-Myers' chief Lamberto Andreotti, Merck's head Kenneth Frazier, and Johnson & Johnson's leader Alex Gorsky seeing substantial compensation increases. Merck's Frazier received $13 million of his $21.4 million in common stock, nearly $9.5 million of Gorsky's $20.4 million at Johnson & Johnson came from shares of his company's stock, and close to half of Gonzalez's pay at AbbVie was derived from common stock awards. The S&P 500 rose by 11.4% last year, while Bristol-Myers, Merck, J&J, and AbbVie saw their share price increase by 14%, 17%, 17%, and 27%, respectively. |
26923.0 | 2015-06-06 00:00:00 UTC | Is Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Moat Filling Up With Sand? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gilead-sciences-incs-moat-filling-sand-2015-06-06 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences looks, at least superficially, like a classic value stock. The biotech's first-quarter revenues grew by a noteworthy 52% year over year , its rising free cash flows led to a nice bump in the share buyback program and the initiation of a quarterly dividend, and finally, the stock is trading at a highly compressed forward price-to-earnings ratio relative to its peers:
A deeper look at this top biotech, though, reveals some serious chinks in its armor. Put simply, Gilead may actually be a value trap, not a value stock. Here's why.
Gilead's moat in the hepatitis C market isn't built to last
One of most common ways to suss out a value trap is by examining a business' underlying competitive moat. A deep moat will keep competitors at bay after all, allowing a company to grow revenues in a sustainable manner.
Gilead's moat, however, appears to be rapidly filling up with sand, and its rivals are set to storm the castle, so to speak. The key issue to understand is that the dynamic hep C duo of Harvoni and Sovaldi combined to haul in 61% of total product sales in the first quarter, showing that this is an extremely important franchise to the biotech's growth prospects.
Source: Abbvie
The launch of AbbVie 's Viekira Pak, though, marked the industry's first major attempt to cross into Gilead's largely uncontested territory. Although Viekira hasn't gotten off to a great start with only $231 million in first-quarter sales, AbbVie's management believes that prescriptions will start ramp up later in the year, putting it on track to capture close to 20% of the market.
Another threat to Gilead's domination is the potential launch of another rival medication from Merck & Co. . Last week, Merck filed a New Drug Application with the Food and Drug Administration for its once-daily, single-tablet combo of grazoprevir and elbasvir for the treatment of adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotypes 1, 4, and 6. Merck's once-daily single tablet offering is probably going to be a more efficient competitor than AbbVie's Viekira, given its far more favorable dosing regimen (one pill once a day versus three pills twice a day in some cases).
All told, the Street is expecting Gilead is lose 30% to 40% of the hep C market to competitors by 2017. And the introduction of yet another highly effective hep C drug is going to add to the substantial pricing pressures these companies are already facing from payers.
Key takeaways
Although hep C is not Gilead's only game, much of the valuation of the company is arguably based on the success of this franchise. Unfortunately, this success could turn out to be a flash in the pan, and that means its stock could be turning into a value trap. After all, the potent mixture of increasing competition and steep price declines are likely going to enact a serious toll on Gilead's revenues within a year. To short-circuit any drop-off in revenue, the biotech could consider doing something it's never done before -- namely buying a large company that already has a fair number of approved products.
With cash and cash equivalents heading toward the $20 billion mark, Gilead certainly has the dry powder necessary to execute a large acquisition. But perhaps not the will or expertise, especially when it comes to integrating a major commercial operation into the fold.
In light of its operating history and core areas of expertise, the most likely scenario is that Gilead will end up acquiring a small or midsized company with an intriguing clinical pipeline. While that's great for long-term growth, it means that investors might want to brace themselves for a substantial decline in earnings as competitors begin to breach Gilead's competitive moat in the hep C market.
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The article Is Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Moat Filling Up With Sand? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Source: Abbvie The launch of AbbVie 's Viekira Pak, though, marked the industry's first major attempt to cross into Gilead's largely uncontested territory. Although Viekira hasn't gotten off to a great start with only $231 million in first-quarter sales, AbbVie's management believes that prescriptions will start ramp up later in the year, putting it on track to capture close to 20% of the market. Merck's once-daily single tablet offering is probably going to be a more efficient competitor than AbbVie's Viekira, given its far more favorable dosing regimen (one pill once a day versus three pills twice a day in some cases). | Although Viekira hasn't gotten off to a great start with only $231 million in first-quarter sales, AbbVie's management believes that prescriptions will start ramp up later in the year, putting it on track to capture close to 20% of the market. Source: Abbvie The launch of AbbVie 's Viekira Pak, though, marked the industry's first major attempt to cross into Gilead's largely uncontested territory. Merck's once-daily single tablet offering is probably going to be a more efficient competitor than AbbVie's Viekira, given its far more favorable dosing regimen (one pill once a day versus three pills twice a day in some cases). | Source: Abbvie The launch of AbbVie 's Viekira Pak, though, marked the industry's first major attempt to cross into Gilead's largely uncontested territory. Although Viekira hasn't gotten off to a great start with only $231 million in first-quarter sales, AbbVie's management believes that prescriptions will start ramp up later in the year, putting it on track to capture close to 20% of the market. Merck's once-daily single tablet offering is probably going to be a more efficient competitor than AbbVie's Viekira, given its far more favorable dosing regimen (one pill once a day versus three pills twice a day in some cases). | Source: Abbvie The launch of AbbVie 's Viekira Pak, though, marked the industry's first major attempt to cross into Gilead's largely uncontested territory. Although Viekira hasn't gotten off to a great start with only $231 million in first-quarter sales, AbbVie's management believes that prescriptions will start ramp up later in the year, putting it on track to capture close to 20% of the market. Merck's once-daily single tablet offering is probably going to be a more efficient competitor than AbbVie's Viekira, given its far more favorable dosing regimen (one pill once a day versus three pills twice a day in some cases). |
26924.0 | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie Reports Positive Results on Oncology Drug Imbruvica - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-reports-positive-results-on-oncology-drug-imbruvica-analyst-blog-2015-06-05 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics LLC, has reported positive results on Imbruvica from the final analysis of the phase III trial, RESONATE-2.
The randomized trial was assessing Imbruvica versus chlorambucil in treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) patients aged 65 years or older. The design and specific performance goals for the trial were established in a special protocol assessment with the FDA.
Analysis from the trial showed that Imbruvica improved progression-free survival and attained key secondary endpoints including overall survival and overall response rate in treatment-naïve patients with CLL/SLL.
Imbruvica is currently approved for the treatment of patients suffering from CLL who have received at least one prior therapy, all CLL patients (including treatment-naive) who have the genetic mutation del 17p, and all patients (including treatment-naïve) with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. The drug is also approved for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have received at least one prior therapy.
We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015, which was a move to strengthen its oncology portfolio. Imbruvica is the acquired company's sole approved product. The global hematological oncology market is estimated to be worth $24 billion and the addition of Imbruvica to its portfolio will allow AbbVie to capture a major share of the same.
We note that AbbVie has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen Biotech for Imbruvica.
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Actelion Ltd. ALIOF and Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD . Both carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics LLC, has reported positive results on Imbruvica from the final analysis of the phase III trial, RESONATE-2. The global hematological oncology market is estimated to be worth $24 billion and the addition of Imbruvica to its portfolio will allow AbbVie to capture a major share of the same. We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015, which was a move to strengthen its oncology portfolio. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics LLC, has reported positive results on Imbruvica from the final analysis of the phase III trial, RESONATE-2. We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015, which was a move to strengthen its oncology portfolio. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics LLC, has reported positive results on Imbruvica from the final analysis of the phase III trial, RESONATE-2. We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015, which was a move to strengthen its oncology portfolio. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics LLC, has reported positive results on Imbruvica from the final analysis of the phase III trial, RESONATE-2. We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015, which was a move to strengthen its oncology portfolio. |
26925.0 | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC | Halozyme-AbbVie Ink Deal for ENHANZE Platform, Shares Up - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/halozyme-abbvie-ink-deal-for-enhanze-platform-shares-up-analyst-blog-2015-06-04 | nan | nan | Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.HALO announced that it has entered into a global collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV for the development and commercialization of therapies by combining the former's ENHANZE technology platform with the latter's proprietary compounds.
Terms of the Deal
Per the terms of the agreement, Halozyme is entitled to receive $23 million initially. Subsequently, upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-based milestones by AbbVie, Halozyme will receive milestone payments for each of up to nine collaboration targets summing up to approximately $130 million. In addition, Halozyme is entitled to receive tiered royalties from AbbVie upon the commercialization of products under the collaboration.
We note that Halozyme already has partnerships with several big health care companies like Roche Holding AG RHHBY among others for its ENHANZE technology. These collaborations not only validate the company's proprietary technology, but also help it maintain top-line growth through milestone payments, license fees, reimbursements and royalties.
We believe Halozyme's collaboration with AbbVie should benefit the company strategically as well financially. With this deal, Halozyme gained a strong partner in AbbVie, which has a marked presence in the market for novel therapies. Halozyme's shares gained 8.8% reflecting investor's reaction to the news.
Several companies in the health care sector have been caught in the recent deal-making frenzy aimed at stepping up development of their pipelines. Last month BioNTech AG inked a deal with Genmab A/S GNMSF to jointly research, develop and commercialize antibodies for cancer immunotherapy using BioNTech's proprietary immunomodulatory antibodies and Genmab's DuoBody technology platform.
Halozyme carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is Actelion Ltd. ALIOF , carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.HALO announced that it has entered into a global collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV for the development and commercialization of therapies by combining the former's ENHANZE technology platform with the latter's proprietary compounds. Subsequently, upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-based milestones by AbbVie, Halozyme will receive milestone payments for each of up to nine collaboration targets summing up to approximately $130 million. In addition, Halozyme is entitled to receive tiered royalties from AbbVie upon the commercialization of products under the collaboration. | Click to get this free report ROCHE HLDG LTD (RHHBY): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report HALOZYME THERA (HALO): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GENMAB A/S (GNMSF): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.HALO announced that it has entered into a global collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV for the development and commercialization of therapies by combining the former's ENHANZE technology platform with the latter's proprietary compounds. Subsequently, upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-based milestones by AbbVie, Halozyme will receive milestone payments for each of up to nine collaboration targets summing up to approximately $130 million. | Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.HALO announced that it has entered into a global collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV for the development and commercialization of therapies by combining the former's ENHANZE technology platform with the latter's proprietary compounds. Click to get this free report ROCHE HLDG LTD (RHHBY): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report HALOZYME THERA (HALO): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GENMAB A/S (GNMSF): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Subsequently, upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-based milestones by AbbVie, Halozyme will receive milestone payments for each of up to nine collaboration targets summing up to approximately $130 million. | Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.HALO announced that it has entered into a global collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV for the development and commercialization of therapies by combining the former's ENHANZE technology platform with the latter's proprietary compounds. In addition, Halozyme is entitled to receive tiered royalties from AbbVie upon the commercialization of products under the collaboration. Subsequently, upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-based milestones by AbbVie, Halozyme will receive milestone payments for each of up to nine collaboration targets summing up to approximately $130 million. |
26926.0 | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC | Biotech Stock Roundup: ImmunoGen Soars on ASCO Data, Amgen Collaborates with Roche - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/biotech-stock-roundup-immunogen-soars-asco-data-amgen-collaborates-roche-analyst-blog-2015 | nan | nan | It's been a busy week for the biotech sector with several companies attending the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to showcase data on their experimental as well as approved cancer drugs. Companies like ImmunoGen IMGN and Juno JUNO came out with encouraging data.
Recap of the Week's Most Important Stories
1. Amgen AMGN remained in the news with the company providing several pipeline updates. The company is collaborating with Roche on a phase Ib study that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Amgen's investigational cancer immunotherapy, talimogene laherparepvec, in combination with Roche's investigational anti-PDL1 therapy, atezolizumab in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer with liver metastases (Read more: Roche Collaborates with Amgen for Immuno-Oncology ). Amgen has also signed up with Merck for evaluation of talimogene laherparepvec in combination with Merck's Keytruda.
Amgen was also present at ASCO with positive results from a late-stage study on Prolia in postmenopausal women with early hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer receiving aromatase inhibitor therapy. Meanwhile, the company has started a late-stage study on a once-weekly dosing regimen of its multiple myeloma treatment, Kyprolis (currently approved for twice-weekly dosing).
2. Juno continues to strengthen its capabilities to create best-in-class engineered T cells against a wide range of cancer targets. The company has acquired X-BODY - the acquisition provides Juno with protein engineering capabilities that should boost the company's ability to generate novel CAR T and TCR product candidates. Juno has been pretty active on this front with the company acquiring Stage Cell Therapeutics and striking a deal with Editas Medicine last month.
Juno also presented encouraging data on its most advanced CAR T cell candidate, JCAR015, at ASCO, in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The company reported encouraging clinical responses to its other CAR T cell candidate, JCAR014, in patients with B-cell cancers.
3. ImmunoGen, which focuses on the development of anticancer therapeutics using its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology, saw its shares soar 71.9% on encouraging early-stage data on its unique, FRα-targeting ADC, mirvetuximab soravtansine. The company is looking to move the candidate into a phase II study later this year as a single-agent treatment for patients with FRα-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Chances are that this study could be used for registration (Read more: ImmunoGen Surges on Positive Ovarian Cancer Study Data ).
4. Gilead GILD presented late-stage data at ASCO on Zydelig plus Arzerra for use in treatment-experienced patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The company reported a 73% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death in patients receiving Zydelig plus Arzerra compared to Arzerra alone. Gilead has filed an application in the U.S. seeking approval for the inclusion of this data in the product label (Read more: Gilead Reveals Encouraging Data from Leukemia Study ).
AbbVie ABBV was also present at ASCO with data on Imbruvica which became a part of its portfolio following the recent acquisition of Pharmacyclics (Read more: AbbVie Presents Positive Data from Multiple Studies at ASCO ).
Performance
Over the last five trading days, Gilead recorded the highest gain (3.80%) among major biotechs. Amgen saw its shares declining 1.62% during this period. Regeneron REGN was the highest gainer (20.81%) over the last six months. Alexion ALXN lost 18.37% during this period.The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index gained 0.79% over the last five trading days (See the last biotech stock roundup here: Eleven Bio Slumps on Eye Drug Data, Achillion Signs Deal with J&J ).
What's Next in the Biotech World?
Regeneron/Sanofi's Praluent and Amgen's Repatha, both PCSK9 inhibitors, currently under FDA review, will come up before the agency's endocrinologic and metabolic drugs advisory panel on Jun 9 and 10, respectively.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie ABBV was also present at ASCO with data on Imbruvica which became a part of its portfolio following the recent acquisition of Pharmacyclics (Read more: AbbVie Presents Positive Data from Multiple Studies at ASCO ). Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report REGENERON PHARM (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JUNO THERAPEUTC (JUNO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. It's been a busy week for the biotech sector with several companies attending the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to showcase data on their experimental as well as approved cancer drugs. | Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report REGENERON PHARM (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JUNO THERAPEUTC (JUNO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie ABBV was also present at ASCO with data on Imbruvica which became a part of its portfolio following the recent acquisition of Pharmacyclics (Read more: AbbVie Presents Positive Data from Multiple Studies at ASCO ). The company is collaborating with Roche on a phase Ib study that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Amgen's investigational cancer immunotherapy, talimogene laherparepvec, in combination with Roche's investigational anti-PDL1 therapy, atezolizumab in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer with liver metastases (Read more: Roche Collaborates with Amgen for Immuno-Oncology ). | AbbVie ABBV was also present at ASCO with data on Imbruvica which became a part of its portfolio following the recent acquisition of Pharmacyclics (Read more: AbbVie Presents Positive Data from Multiple Studies at ASCO ). Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report REGENERON PHARM (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JUNO THERAPEUTC (JUNO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The company is collaborating with Roche on a phase Ib study that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Amgen's investigational cancer immunotherapy, talimogene laherparepvec, in combination with Roche's investigational anti-PDL1 therapy, atezolizumab in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer with liver metastases (Read more: Roche Collaborates with Amgen for Immuno-Oncology ). | AbbVie ABBV was also present at ASCO with data on Imbruvica which became a part of its portfolio following the recent acquisition of Pharmacyclics (Read more: AbbVie Presents Positive Data from Multiple Studies at ASCO ). Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report REGENERON PHARM (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report JUNO THERAPEUTC (JUNO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Companies like ImmunoGen IMGN and Juno JUNO came out with encouraging data. |
26927.0 | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC | After Hours Most Active for Jun 3, 2015 : ABBV, S, FIVE, QQQ, BAC, FDO, CHK, GNW, SOXX, COWN, INTC, AAPL | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/after-hours-most-active-jun-3-2015-abbv-s-five-qqq-bac-fdo-chk-gnw-soxx-cown-intc-aapl | nan | nan | The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is up 2.2 to 4,522.06. The total After hours volume is currently 44,914,959 shares traded.
The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session :
AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $67.01, with 13,293,023 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range".
Sprint Corporation ( S ) is unchanged at $4.75, with 3,339,942 shares traded. S's current last sale is 95% of the target price of $5.
Five Below, Inc. ( FIVE ) is +2.44 at $37.54, with 1,109,723 shares traded. RTT News Reports: Five Below Profit Rises, Outlook Strong; Shares Up 7%
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 ( QQQ ) is +0.12 at $110.52, with 1,023,944 shares traded. This represents a 22.47% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Bank of America Corporation ( BAC ) is +0.03 at $16.96, with 1,016,313 shares traded. BAC's current last sale is 91.68% of the target price of $18.5.
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. ( FDO ) is unchanged at $78.63, with 977,316 shares traded. FDO's current last sale is 101.46% of the target price of $77.5.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation ( CHK ) is +0.039 at $13.60, with 891,731 shares traded. Over the last four weeks they have had 4 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. The consensus EPS forecast is $-0.13. CHK's current last sale is 79.99% of the target price of $17.
Genworth Financial Inc ( GNW ) is unchanged at $8.05, with 883,678 shares traded. GNW's current last sale is 80.5% of the target price of $10.
iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund ( SOXX ) is unchanged at $99.32, with 860,935 shares traded. This represents a 33.93% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Cowen Group, Inc. ( COWN ) is unchanged at $6.27, with 805,820 shares traded., following a 52-week high recorded in today's regular session.
Intel Corporation ( INTC ) is unchanged at $32.73, with 641,470 shares traded. INTC's current last sale is 88.46% of the target price of $37.
Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) is +0.05 at $130.17, with 603,836 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for AAPL is in the "buy range".
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $67.01, with 13,293,023 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund ( SOXX ) is unchanged at $99.32, with 860,935 shares traded. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $67.01, with 13,293,023 shares traded. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $67.01, with 13,293,023 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". Sprint Corporation ( S ) is unchanged at $4.75, with 3,339,942 shares traded. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is unchanged at $67.01, with 13,293,023 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". Five Below, Inc. ( FIVE ) is +2.44 at $37.54, with 1,109,723 shares traded. |
26928.0 | 2015-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | Are Celgene Corp.'s Shares About to Get Hammered? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/are-celgene-corps-shares-about-get-hammered-2015-06-01 | nan | nan | A quiet war has been slowly brewing within the U.S. healthcare system over the rising costs of new drugs. Outsiders got a rare peak into this ongoing tug-of-war between pharma companies and payers last year, when Express Scripts ' Chief Medical Officer Steve Miller helped to a broker a deal with AbbVie to dramatically slash the price of new hepatitis C medications.
Now he's looking to do the same thing with costly cancer drugs, and that could be a major blow to drugmakers such as Celgene Corp. Here's why.
Miller's proposal would pummel Celgene's growth strategy
Miller wants to adopt a system in which cancer drugs would be reimbursed based on their effectiveness in a given tumor type.
The idea is simple enough. Many cancer drugs are approved for multiple indications but have varying degrees of effectiveness across their approved uses. Even so, drug companies are charging the same amount for every indication, which would change, perhaps markedly so, under Miller's proposal.
A pay-by-performance reimbursement system would thus be a huge blow to a company such as Celgene, which has thrived by continually expanding the labels of its top cancer products such as Revlimid.
Revlimid's sales, for instance, have been growing by close to 20% annually for years, because the company has been extremely successful at expanding the drug's label for new indications such as newly diagnosed multiple myeloma:
The drug's extensive clinical data across multiple forms of cancer, though, shows why a pay-by-performance system would be such a nightmare for Celgene and its shareholders.
As a treatment for relapsed mantle cell lymphoma, Revlimid combined with rituximab reported overall response rates of 57% and complete response rates of 36%.
When the drug is used in conjunction with dexamethasone as a treatment for relapsed multiple myeloma, the overall response rate comes in at close to 61%, but complete responses are only 16%, according to data from two late-stage studies.
Digging into these data, we can immediately see that Revlimid is basically not effective whatsoever for around 40% of patients across these two particular indications. That brings up the possibility that Celgene might receive only a nominal fee, to cover manufacturing costs, in cases where the drug failed to improve clinical outcomes.
And then there is the issue of how "performance" would be judged under such a reimbursement scheme. Revlimid's complete response rate in relapsed multiple myeloma, for instance, isn't great. Would the drug therefore only garner its full price if a complete response is observed, or would a partial response justify full reimbursement?
Those are extremely complicated issues to work through, but they hint at multiple ways in which Revlimid's sales could crater under a pay-by-performance system.
What's next?
Although Miller and many others are advocating for major changes in the pricing of cancer drugs as a whole, the clinical and logistical realities may preclude any dramatic modifications for the time being.
Most cancers remain incurable, meaning that patients often receive every available treatment at some point along the way. So Celgene's shareholders probably shouldn't lose too much sleep over Miller's opening salvo against pricey cancer drugs.
The cold, harsh reality is that cancer drug prices are unlikely to head lower until real competition is introduced in the marketplace. Indeed, it was the competition between AbbVie and Gilead Sciences that broke the dam on hep C drug prices.
Unfortunately, competition is an extremely uncommon feature of the oncology landscape at present, because science is only now getting a handle on the complexities inherent in the tumor ecosystem. The good news is that there is a tremendous amount of work being done to explore the use of potent combo therapies that could one day lead to functional cures for some tumor types.
Until then, however, cancer drug prices will more than likely remain on the high side.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Are Celgene Corp.'s Shares About to Get Hammered? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene and Express Scripts. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Outsiders got a rare peak into this ongoing tug-of-war between pharma companies and payers last year, when Express Scripts ' Chief Medical Officer Steve Miller helped to a broker a deal with AbbVie to dramatically slash the price of new hepatitis C medications. Indeed, it was the competition between AbbVie and Gilead Sciences that broke the dam on hep C drug prices. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. | Outsiders got a rare peak into this ongoing tug-of-war between pharma companies and payers last year, when Express Scripts ' Chief Medical Officer Steve Miller helped to a broker a deal with AbbVie to dramatically slash the price of new hepatitis C medications. Indeed, it was the competition between AbbVie and Gilead Sciences that broke the dam on hep C drug prices. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. | Outsiders got a rare peak into this ongoing tug-of-war between pharma companies and payers last year, when Express Scripts ' Chief Medical Officer Steve Miller helped to a broker a deal with AbbVie to dramatically slash the price of new hepatitis C medications. Indeed, it was the competition between AbbVie and Gilead Sciences that broke the dam on hep C drug prices. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. | Outsiders got a rare peak into this ongoing tug-of-war between pharma companies and payers last year, when Express Scripts ' Chief Medical Officer Steve Miller helped to a broker a deal with AbbVie to dramatically slash the price of new hepatitis C medications. Indeed, it was the competition between AbbVie and Gilead Sciences that broke the dam on hep C drug prices. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. |
26929.0 | 2015-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie Presents Positive Data from Multiple Studies at ASCO - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-presents-positive-data-from-multiple-studies-at-asco-analyst-blog-2015-06-01 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc.ABBV presented encouraging results on Imbruvica and its experimental multiple myeloma candidate, venetoclax, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Results from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international, multicenter, phase III HELIOS study (n=578) showed an 80% reduction in the risk of progression or death in patients treated with Imbruvica plus bendamustine and rituximab (BR) compared to patients receiving placebo plus BR. Patients also experienced a higher overall response rate including a higher rate of complete responses. The study was conducted in patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma.
AbbVie also announced interim results from an ongoing phase Ib/II study on Imbruvica, evaluating its safety and efficacy in patients suffering from steroid-dependent or refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). While the phase Ib portion of the study was open-label and designed to assess the recommended phase II dose of Imbruvica (starting at 420 mg), the phase II study is currently underway. Interim data showed early clinical activity in the reduction of cGVHD in patients when treated with Imbruvica.
We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015. AbbVie has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen Biotech for Imbruvica. Imbruvica is currently approved for the treatment of patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, mantle cell lymphoma or CLL who have received at least one previous therapy and for CLL patients with a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17.
Meanwhile, AbbVie presented data from a phase Ib study on its experimental multiple myeloma candidate venetoclax. Results showed that when treated with venetoclax in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone, patients demonstrated an overall response rate of 83% in bortezomib-naïve patients and a 63% overall response rate in bortezomib-sensitive patients. Moreover, a monotherapy study on venetoclax showed a 29% overall response rate.
AbbVie has an agreement with Roche RHHBY for venetoclax.
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Gilead Sciences GILD is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV presented encouraging results on Imbruvica and its experimental multiple myeloma candidate, venetoclax, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). AbbVie also announced interim results from an ongoing phase Ib/II study on Imbruvica, evaluating its safety and efficacy in patients suffering from steroid-dependent or refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). We remind investors that Imbruvica was added to AbbVie's portfolio following the Pharmacyclics acquisition in May 2015. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV presented encouraging results on Imbruvica and its experimental multiple myeloma candidate, venetoclax, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Meanwhile, AbbVie presented data from a phase Ib study on its experimental multiple myeloma candidate venetoclax. Click to get this free report ROCHE HLDG LTD (RHHBY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. | Click to get this free report ROCHE HLDG LTD (RHHBY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV presented encouraging results on Imbruvica and its experimental multiple myeloma candidate, venetoclax, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). AbbVie also announced interim results from an ongoing phase Ib/II study on Imbruvica, evaluating its safety and efficacy in patients suffering from steroid-dependent or refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). | Meanwhile, AbbVie presented data from a phase Ib study on its experimental multiple myeloma candidate venetoclax. Click to get this free report ROCHE HLDG LTD (RHHBY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV presented encouraging results on Imbruvica and its experimental multiple myeloma candidate, venetoclax, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). |
26930.0 | 2015-05-31 00:00:00 UTC | A Stock Market Bubble In Healthcare Stocks? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/stock-market-bubble-healthcare-stocks-2015-05-31 | nan | nan | Bristol-Myers Squibb , for example, claims a price-to-earnings multiple of 50. AbbVie 's earnings multiple currently stands at a whopping 58. Both drugmakers are at or near all-time high valuations.
However, neither Bristol nor AbbVie saw impressive earnings growth over the last year. That's true of most of the other top holdings in the Health Care Select SPDR ETF. Soaring share prices and all-time high valuations combined with somewhat stagnant earnings growth? It's not too difficult to argue that sounds like a recipe for a bubble.
Room to run?
On the other hand, three of the four largest stocks in the Health Care Select SPDR ETF have experienced solid earnings growth. Net income nearly doubled over the last 12 months for two of those companies -- Merck and Gilead Sciences . Merck's performance comes with an asterisk, though: the company generated $11.2 billion by selling its Consumer Care business.
Still, both companies prove the point that not all healthcare stocks are valued at lofty levels. Merck's earnings multiple of 15 isn't very scary. And Gilead's P/E of less than 13 could be characterized as bargain territory by some.
Also, the market places much heavier emphasis on the future than it does the past, particularly in the healthcare sector. Most of the healthcare ETF's top holdings have much more palatable valuations based on expected future earnings. Even seemingly sky-high priced AbbVie claims a forward earnings multiple of only 13.
These bright prospects stem from solid products for many of these companies. AbbVie's Humira continues to rake in billions, and its pipeline promises to make up from falling Humira sales once the blockbuster loses patent protection. Meanwhile, Gilead's hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi have absolutely dominated the market, raking in so much cash that the company initiated a dividend just to have something to do with it all. And while Bristol and Merck are still feeling the effects of losing patent exclusivity for blockbuster drugs, both companies can look forward to encouraging pipelines.
Mostly rational exuberance
Stock market bubbles occur when share prices surge well above what the fundamentals justify. While some healthcare stocks probably are due for a serious pullback, I personally think that the great performance for healthcare is based on mostly rational exuberance.
After all, there are some solid reasons why healthcare is booming. New drugs that achieve results unheard of in the past are now on the market (i.e., Gilead's aforementioned Sovaldi and Harvoni, which essentially cure hepatitis C). The baby boomer generation is aging, driving healthcare demand. Healthcare reform has opened access to healthcare services for more Americans.
Will healthcare stocks double again over the next three years? Probably not. Exuberance does tend to fade over time. However, I don't think a crash is imminent either. This likelihood of neither a double nor a bubble should make picking specific stocks more important over the next few years. But I'd say that picking stocks in the healthcare industry gives investors a better shot at solid returns than most other areas.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article A Stock Market Bubble In Healthcare Stocks? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Health Care Select SPDR ETF. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Citigroup Inc and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie 's earnings multiple currently stands at a whopping 58. However, neither Bristol nor AbbVie saw impressive earnings growth over the last year. Even seemingly sky-high priced AbbVie claims a forward earnings multiple of only 13. | AbbVie 's earnings multiple currently stands at a whopping 58. However, neither Bristol nor AbbVie saw impressive earnings growth over the last year. Even seemingly sky-high priced AbbVie claims a forward earnings multiple of only 13. | AbbVie 's earnings multiple currently stands at a whopping 58. However, neither Bristol nor AbbVie saw impressive earnings growth over the last year. Even seemingly sky-high priced AbbVie claims a forward earnings multiple of only 13. | AbbVie 's earnings multiple currently stands at a whopping 58. However, neither Bristol nor AbbVie saw impressive earnings growth over the last year. Even seemingly sky-high priced AbbVie claims a forward earnings multiple of only 13. |
26931.0 | 2015-05-31 00:00:00 UTC | Why AbbVie, Inc. Is a Better Long-Term Buy Than Gilead Sciences, Inc. | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-abbvie-inc-better-long-term-buy-gilead-sciences-inc-2015-05-31 | nan | nan | Comparing two leading biopharmas with solid management teams like AbbVie and Gilead Sciences is no easy task. Given that most investors have to make tough decisions regarding their portfolios, though, I think it's worth the effort to consider which company offers the better long-term prospects.
Source: Gilead Sciences
While the Street has oft-tied AbbVie and Gilead at the hip because of their competing hepatitis C franchises, my view is that this is a poor, and frankly myopic, starting point.
The more insightful approach is to focus on the biggest threats to each company's main value drivers on a forward-looking basis. In other words, which biopharma has the stronger economic moat to sustain its current growth trajectory?
I believe this bottom-up approach, so to speak, clearly shows that AbbVie has a much brighter future than Gilead. Here's why.
AbbVie's focus on biologics gives it a leg up over Gilead
One of the main reasons why investors shouldn't put too much stock in the ongoing hepatitis C battle between AbbVie and Gilead is because these two companies don't share much else in common clinically or product-wise.
AbbVie's clinical pipeline and product portfolio, for instance, is chock-full of biological-based drugs. Gilead, on the other hand, has historically favored small molecule drugs, and its minor foray into biologics with simtuzumab -- as a potential treatment for an array of cancers -- hasn't panned out.
This is a major difference that shouldn't be glossed over by investors. Major pharma companies like Pfizer , Bristol-Myers Squibb , among others, have radically shifted their pipelines toward the development of biologics over the last decade because these types of drugs have a huge firewall against generic competitors, especially in the U.S.
As it stands right now, the current regulatory pathway in the U.S. for generic versions of biologics, or "biosimilars", is fraught with potential landmines. That's why it took five years since a formal regulatory framework for biosimilars was put into place for the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, to approve its first biosimilar in Novartis ' ZarxioTM -- a biosimilar of Amgen 's white blood cell-boosting Neupogen. And even then, Amgen was immediately able to block Zarxio by launching a patent infringement suit .
Source: health.com
AbbVie's main threat right now is the introduction of a biosimilar for its flagship rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira. Although Humira is scheduled to lose patent protection in the U.S. in late 2016, AbbVie's management believes that their family of patents surrounding various aspects of the drug could delay biosimilar competition for perhaps another decade. By then, the company should have already launched one of its experimental candidates intended to replace Humira.
Most importantly, though, AbbVie's ability to defend Humira on numerous fronts should give the company a good shot at generating double-digit top-line growth for years to come. And AbbVie's other late-stage experimental biologics such as elotuzumab -- indicated as a treatment for multiple myeloma --should help to round out its portfolio of biological-based drugs moving forward.
Gilead's chief threats should keep investors awake at night
Although Gilead boasts a successful HIV franchise, the company's main growth driver of late has undoubtedly been its hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni. The launch of these two drugs caused revenues in the first-quarter to shoot up by 52% from a year ago.
Nevertheless, the future of the hep C market in general is highly uncertain, and Gilead's hepatitis franchise perhaps doubly so. Because Sovaldi is a traditional small molecule drug, numerous companies have been able to develop rival therapies -- a common theme within this class of pharmaceuticals.
And the biggest threat to Gilead's growth is indeed the development of other hep C therapies with a shorter treatment duration. AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson , among many others, all have promising experimental candidates undergoing clinical trials.
So, there is a real chance that Gilead's monstrous growth rate is peaking right now.
Key takeaways
AbbVie and Gilead are both great companies headed by bright managerial teams. That's why I own both of these stocks.
In my view, though, AbbVie's biologics portfolio simply gives it a more plausible scenario for long-term growth.
Looking ahead, I would expect Gilead to address this discrepancy via an acquisition, but then again, the biotech's experience with simtuzumab, so far, may make it gun-shy when it comes to stepping too far outside of its core area of expertise. Time will tell.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Why AbbVie, Inc. Is a Better Long-Term Buy Than Gilead Sciences, Inc. originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Most importantly, though, AbbVie's ability to defend Humira on numerous fronts should give the company a good shot at generating double-digit top-line growth for years to come. Comparing two leading biopharmas with solid management teams like AbbVie and Gilead Sciences is no easy task. Source: Gilead Sciences While the Street has oft-tied AbbVie and Gilead at the hip because of their competing hepatitis C franchises, my view is that this is a poor, and frankly myopic, starting point. | Comparing two leading biopharmas with solid management teams like AbbVie and Gilead Sciences is no easy task. Source: Gilead Sciences While the Street has oft-tied AbbVie and Gilead at the hip because of their competing hepatitis C franchises, my view is that this is a poor, and frankly myopic, starting point. I believe this bottom-up approach, so to speak, clearly shows that AbbVie has a much brighter future than Gilead. | Source: Gilead Sciences While the Street has oft-tied AbbVie and Gilead at the hip because of their competing hepatitis C franchises, my view is that this is a poor, and frankly myopic, starting point. AbbVie's focus on biologics gives it a leg up over Gilead One of the main reasons why investors shouldn't put too much stock in the ongoing hepatitis C battle between AbbVie and Gilead is because these two companies don't share much else in common clinically or product-wise. Comparing two leading biopharmas with solid management teams like AbbVie and Gilead Sciences is no easy task. | AbbVie's focus on biologics gives it a leg up over Gilead One of the main reasons why investors shouldn't put too much stock in the ongoing hepatitis C battle between AbbVie and Gilead is because these two companies don't share much else in common clinically or product-wise. In my view, though, AbbVie's biologics portfolio simply gives it a more plausible scenario for long-term growth. Comparing two leading biopharmas with solid management teams like AbbVie and Gilead Sciences is no easy task. |
26932.0 | 2015-05-30 00:00:00 UTC | Time to Take Profits in Gilead Sciences Inc. Stock? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/time-take-profits-gilead-sciences-inc-stock-2015-05-30 | nan | nan | Source: Gilead Sciences
Sell in May and go away?
Taking action on the old adage would have been a big mistake for investors owning Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) stock. Shares of the big biotech jumped around 10% during May -- accounting for half of the stock's year-to-date gains. With this nice run, is it now time to take profits in Gilead stock? Here are arguments for both sides of the question.
Sell by June (or at least pretty soon)
There are at least three reasons I can think of for why some investors might be itching to sell some of their Gilead Sciences shares. First, the stock is rapidly approaching two key levels: Gilead's all-time high of nearly $117 set last Halloween and the consensus one-year price target of just above $121.
Second, anyone who has held Gilead for at least a year is sitting on top of some really nice profits. Shares are up 37% over the past 12 months. If you were smart enough (or lucky enough) to have bought Gilead stock five years ago, your initial investment has increased more than six-fold. It could be mighty tempting to lock in some of those hefty profits.
The third possible reason for selling Gilead stock perhaps makes the most sense, though. If you think the biotech's earnings growth will inevitably slow down in the not-too-distant future and result in a long period of stagnant share price movement, selling now could seem like a good idea.
And the truth is that, at least based on what we know now, Gilead's earnings growth likely will slow down. After all, it would be extremely difficult for a company with a market cap of close to $170 billion to sustain year-over-year percentage earnings growth near triple digits. While Harvoni will probably keep racking up more sales and higher earnings for Gilead, the growth rate will taper off.
Hold for a while 'cause Gilead's still in style
On the other hand, say what?! Selling any stock just because it reaches or gets close to an all-time high misses a critical point: That's what growth stocks do all the time. They regularly hit and blow past prior high marks. As for selling when shares meet an analyst's price target -- just say no. Don't rely solely on analysts' views for when to sell a stock (or buy a stock, for that matter).
When it comes to selling Gilead simply to take some profits off the table or because earnings growth might slow down, it's important to ask yourself, "Is there a better investing alternative right now?" There's a pretty strong case to be made that the answer to that question is "no."
You won't find many stocks from any industry (but especially sizzling hot biotech) with impressive financials and an earnings multiple below 13. Gilead claims both. And while earnings growth rates might slow down over time, the biotech's revenue and earnings should continue to grow at respectable levels.
Harvoni is the most effective hepatitis C drug on the market. Gilead Sciences held its own and then some in the battle against AbbVie for positioning on payer formularies. Its HIV franchise continues to do well. Gilead's pipeline is also stocked with quite a few promising drugs, including simtuzumab, which targets NASH, a liver disease for which no effective treatment is currently available.
There's also Gilead's stockpile of over $11.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short term investments. Gilead will use much of this cash to buy back shares, pay out dividends, and likely buy smaller biotechs or their experimental drugs. The first option rewards investors by driving Gilead's share price up. The second option rewards investors by simply giving them money. And, based on Gilead's prior track record, the third option could be the best of all by opening up great new markets.
Wrapping up
Warren Buffett once said, "When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever. We are just the opposite of those who hurry to sell and book profits when companies perform well but who tenaciously hang on to businesses that disappoint." Great advice from a great investor. Let the good times roll.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Time to Take Profits in Gilead Sciences Inc. Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights owns shares of Gilead Sciences, and he likes both Buffetts -- Jimmy and Warren. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Gilead Sciences held its own and then some in the battle against AbbVie for positioning on payer formularies. First, the stock is rapidly approaching two key levels: Gilead's all-time high of nearly $117 set last Halloween and the consensus one-year price target of just above $121. If you think the biotech's earnings growth will inevitably slow down in the not-too-distant future and result in a long period of stagnant share price movement, selling now could seem like a good idea. | Gilead Sciences held its own and then some in the battle against AbbVie for positioning on payer formularies. Taking action on the old adage would have been a big mistake for investors owning Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) stock. And while earnings growth rates might slow down over time, the biotech's revenue and earnings should continue to grow at respectable levels. | Gilead Sciences held its own and then some in the battle against AbbVie for positioning on payer formularies. Sell by June (or at least pretty soon) There are at least three reasons I can think of for why some investors might be itching to sell some of their Gilead Sciences shares. When it comes to selling Gilead simply to take some profits off the table or because earnings growth might slow down, it's important to ask yourself, "Is there a better investing alternative right now?" | Gilead Sciences held its own and then some in the battle against AbbVie for positioning on payer formularies. And while earnings growth rates might slow down over time, the biotech's revenue and earnings should continue to grow at respectable levels. The article Time to Take Profits in Gilead Sciences Inc. Stock? |
26933.0 | 2015-05-30 00:00:00 UTC | Amgen Inc: Why You Shouldn't Count Chickens Before They Hatch | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/amgen-inc-why-you-shouldnt-count-chickens-they-hatch-2015-05-30 | nan | nan | As another announcement reaches the country regarding a medication not fulfilling promises, healthcare investors have good reasons to getting worried.
Amgen has pulled back on the production of its popular psoriasis medication, but where does that leave companies like Johnson & Johnson or Celgene ? We've seen stocks soar with good news from the FDA, but some might have cashed in before the proof was in their pockets.
On today's episode of Industry Focus, Motley Fool's Michael Douglass and Todd Campbell help investors understand the impact of this news.
A full transcript follows the video.
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Michael Douglass: Amgen presents the perfect reason why you don't count your chickens before they're hatched. This is Industry Focus.
[INTRO]
Hi, Fools. Healthcare analyst Michael Douglass here. Today, for your Wednesday health care edition of Industry Focus and I'm on the phone with one of our health care contributors; Todd Campbell. Now Todd, the topic today is just -- I think, for a lot of people -- pretty surprising news out of a collaboration between Amgen and AstraZeneca on the psoriasis drug Brodalumab.
Todd Campbell: In preparation for this, I put on my 'way back' hat and I was trying to think of "When have I seen this before?" honestly, I can't think of a high profile drug like this failing in such a spectacular fashion in such a surprising way. This is very interesting and it's a great reminder to investors that, until the FDA gives you the green light, don't bet on an approval.
Even if you have solid Phase III data in hand. Amgen and AstraZeneca, they teamed up on this drug way back in 2012. They put a lot of time, effort and money into studying this drug. They've studied it in thousands of patients. They found, in those studies, that this drug was very effective at helping clear skin for people who were suffering with psoriasis.
This is a huge patient indication.
Douglass: Yeah. A multi-billion dollar opportunity in that indication. Not necessarily for this drug in particular, but the market as a whole, and it's been a big area. Autoimmune diseases have been a big area of growth in biotech and pharma.
Campbell: Yeah. We've got 7.5 million people here in the U.S. that suffer from psoriasis. They estimate that there's 125 million people worldwide. So, we're talking a lot of people. It's a disease that, while it's not life threatening, it is life changing. A study was done that showed that about 60% of people who suffer from it feel like their quality of life is really affected by it.
There is a significant need for therapies. That's why you've got a host of blockbuster -- billion dollar blockbuster drugs that are used to treat it. You've got AbbVie 's Humira, you've got Enbrel that's used in some cases, you've got Johnson & Johnson's Stelara. There are a lot of drugs.
I think that because of the market opportunity, investors looked at this drug and they said "Hey, this is a great opportunity, a great drug that Amgen can use to offset some of the risk that's going to endure -- pain will endure -- from the patent losses it's facing." So, this is one of the 'pillars' that people were looking at and saying "This will hold up, or prop up sales in the face of any biosimilars that hadn't been coming to market to threaten its market share and these other drugs."
Douglass: Right, and let's face it; Brodalumab's Phase III data looked good. It was effective, it didn't have -- they weren't reporting massive safety issues, but more recently -- earlier this week -- Amgen had a meeting with regulators and disclosed that they were walking away from it because there were issues with suicidal thoughts that would end up on the label and thought would essentially make it an unmarketable drug.
Campbell: Yeah. The unofficial reports are that there were a handful of patients who reported the suicidal thoughts, and unfortunately, there were a couple who had followed through on it. It was a big trial, thousands of patients, but even a handful is enough to make people say "Whoa. This could be a big problem."
I think in that respect it's good that Amgen is walking away. I think that's the right decision right now. At some point you have to say "These are sunk costs. We put a lot of time and effort into developing this drug, but we have other irons in the fire that, now that we know all of these other hurtles that are going to be associated with trying to market -- Brodalumab, now that we get to that point, why don't we just shelf that and just focus on Repatha, a cholesterol busting drug and we'll focus on biosimilars instead.
I think it really changes the dynamic for the market itself as well because you go from Johnson & Johnson's Stelara being threatened by these new drugs, to now saying "Maybe Stelara is not going to see much of its market share fall away." Last May Amgen and AstraZeneca said "Our drug works really well" and then in November they said "Hey, it even works better than Stelara." So, I think a lot of people were saying "Wow, Stelara's got $2 billion in sales..."
Douglass: Yeah. Do the math there, right?
Campbell: Yeah. So, this might be a real big opportunity for Johnson now that it's not going to have face against this competition. It may also help support Celgene's Otezla which got approval for the indication last fall that's off to a start -- if you measure it from prescription volume -- that's faster than the start that Stelara had.
Granted, it did about $60 million in sales last quarter -- its first full quarter since getting the approval for that indication. But that was up from $47 million the prior quarter. So, Celgene thinks this is a billion dollar drug. So, there's just one less competitor that Johnson and Celgene are going to have to out maneuver.
Douglass: Yeah. This is also -- I think you're right. Amgen made the right call because when you have an unmarketable label with these really nasty side effects, especially something that at the end of the day is -- as you pointed out -- life changing, not necessarily as dangerous as some other conditions could be.
So, you're just going to have folks that are less -- doctors are not going to prescribe something with really heavy, nasty side effects when there are other drugs that can work, and when it's not cancer. Not something really, truly, immediately life threatening.
Campbell: Right. As a doctor you're not going to feel comfortable prescribing a drug that may be life ending for a disease that's not fatal. So, yeah. I think this became an unmarketable drug, Amgen's making the right decision not pursuing it. I'm not going to lie though. I'm a little disappointed in Amgen and AstraZeneca, the fact that it's come out the way it has come out. It makes me wonder "What did people know, and when did they know it?"
The fact that Amgen released the news that it's not going to participate in developing the drug anymore on the Friday right before Memorial Day makes you wonder if they were hoping to slide it in there. But I think, ultimately, it's the right decision. You and I were talking before the show. I don't know. I don't think AstraZeneca's going to be able to do much with this drug either. Amgen's basically walked away from the deal leaving it in AstraZeneca's hands.
So, AstraZeneca, theoretically, could do whatever it wants with it. It would be interesting to see what they officially decide to do with it. But Amgen's a big company. They've got a lot of experience in dealing with drugs, labels, and commercializing compounds. So, if they're saying "This isn't worth it to us." Then AstraZeneca will probably say that, too. The way that the deal was written between the two companies when they did their collaboration was that they would share the cost.
AstraZeneca paid a little bit of money, they shared the cost associated with developing it and then Amgen will collect some royalties on sales, and then they'd split any eventual profit tied to the drug. I suppose since this was the most advanced drug in that collaboration, it kind of cast some doubt on whether or not that collaboration will continue in any form, and in what shape if it does continue -- what that will look like.
Without a doubt, this basically shifts the discussion now for Amgen to Repatha and the biosimilars instead because they're going to have to rely a lot more heavily on that over the coming years to offset and threats to their drugs Neupogen and Neulasta and Epogen. It could face off against biosimilars.
Douglass: At the end of the day, it's not like losing one drug sinks Amgen, or AstraZeneca. Amgen's a big biotech. AstraZeneca is a big pharma. But given that you have both companies struggling with a patent cliff and you have both companies highlighting this drug as one of their key opportunities; it's a blow. It's a big blow, and I think with AstraZeneca, a lot of the attention now turns to some of those really early stage cancer drugs that they're looking at.
And as you pointed out with Amgen, its biosimilars and the PCSK9 Inhibitor.
Campbell: Yeah. That means there's a lot of question marks for investors. There's probably a lot of investors going "What do I do now? What does this really mean?"
Douglass: So, if you're in that position, Todd, what do you do?
Campbell: I sit on my hands. Basically this means there's less clarity than there was last week. We need to see how this shakes out. I feel pretty good about the biosimilar opportunity for Amgen. I think Repatha could be a multi-billion dollar blockbuster if it wins approval.
Douglass: Right. Which, if this reminds anyone of anything it's that the approval is not guaranteed. Even with what looks like good Phase III data.
Campbell: Yeah. Even when a company reports good Phase III data, do not count those chickens. Without a doubt. I think that you need to wait and see a little bit. If shares in Amgen retreated significantly from here then I might be willing to consider picking it up. If you own it already, I wouldn't sell it on this news.
Like you said, this isn't going to sink Amgen. When push comes to shove, it probably reduces their long term forward forecast by a half a billion dollars. There's maybe going to be a billion dollar drug. So, at the end of the day, that's not really going to be a deathblow to Amgen. So, if you're currently in it, you probably can just sit tight for the long haul. If you're considering it, just keep it on the watch list.
Douglass: Yeah. I kind of tend to be the same way. I don't find very many of the big pharmas attractive and AstraZeneca lower on that list as it is. Among the four big biotechs, me personally, Amgen's my least favorite. Just because the others have clearer growth opportunities. With Amgen it's a little bit less to find right now.
That isn't to say that any of these are necessarily 'bad stocks', it's just not my personal favorites. If I weren't over allocated in health care -- which I am -- then they still wouldn't be very high on my watch list. I think it's always important for folks to keep a pretty broad watch list because you never know when suddenly a stock's value proposition's going to look a lot better for you.
So, that's something to keep an eye out for. But, yeah; I'm with you. To me, this is important, but it's not necessarily investment thesis changing for me. For me, these were both watch list stocks, regardless.
Campbell: yeah. I think that all eyes should shift to Repatha. That's going to be -- that's the cholesterol busting drug that they're working on as a PCK9 inhibitor. It could eventually end up being used alongside statins in a very large patient pool. It'll be very intriguing to see how that plays out. I think other than it being intriguing -- and something to keep an eye on -- there's no harm in watching and waiting for a little clarity.
Douglass: Yeah. Watching is free, right?
Campbell: Exactly.
Douglass: All right. Cool. Well Todd, thanks for your take, as always. Folks, as we always want to mention on this show: here at The Motley Fool we believe in doing your own due diligence on stocks. So, never, ever, ever buy, or sell, or do anything with a stock based just on what you hear. Always do your own due diligence, and remember that folks on the show and The Motley Fool may own shares, or options on stocks that we mentioned and The Motley Fool may have active recommendations on stocks that we mention.
So, always keep that in mind. Do your own due diligence. Check back to Fool.com, and of course the Industry Focus podcast for all of your investing needs -- health care and otherwise. Thanks, much. For The Motley Fool, I'm Michael Douglass. Fool on!
The article Amgen Inc: Why You Shouldn't Count Chickens Before They Hatch originally appeared on Fool.com.
Michael Douglass owns shares of Celgene and Johnson & Johnson. Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | You've got AbbVie 's Humira, you've got Enbrel that's used in some cases, you've got Johnson & Johnson's Stelara. Amgen made the right call because when you have an unmarketable label with these really nasty side effects, especially something that at the end of the day is -- as you pointed out -- life changing, not necessarily as dangerous as some other conditions could be. AstraZeneca paid a little bit of money, they shared the cost associated with developing it and then Amgen will collect some royalties on sales, and then they'd split any eventual profit tied to the drug. | You've got AbbVie 's Humira, you've got Enbrel that's used in some cases, you've got Johnson & Johnson's Stelara. On today's episode of Industry Focus, Motley Fool's Michael Douglass and Todd Campbell help investors understand the impact of this news. Now Todd, the topic today is just -- I think, for a lot of people -- pretty surprising news out of a collaboration between Amgen and AstraZeneca on the psoriasis drug Brodalumab. | You've got AbbVie 's Humira, you've got Enbrel that's used in some cases, you've got Johnson & Johnson's Stelara. I think that because of the market opportunity, investors looked at this drug and they said "Hey, this is a great opportunity, a great drug that Amgen can use to offset some of the risk that's going to endure -- pain will endure -- from the patent losses it's facing." It was effective, it didn't have -- they weren't reporting massive safety issues, but more recently -- earlier this week -- Amgen had a meeting with regulators and disclosed that they were walking away from it because there were issues with suicidal thoughts that would end up on the label and thought would essentially make it an unmarketable drug. | You've got AbbVie 's Humira, you've got Enbrel that's used in some cases, you've got Johnson & Johnson's Stelara. On today's episode of Industry Focus, Motley Fool's Michael Douglass and Todd Campbell help investors understand the impact of this news. So, I think a lot of people were saying "Wow, Stelara's got $2 billion in sales..." Douglass: Yeah. |
26934.0 | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC | ASCO 2015: Karyopharm Therapeutics Solid Tumor Optionality Undervalued (Summary Version) | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/asco-2015-karyopharm-therapeutics-solid-tumor-optionality-undervalued-summary-version-2015 | nan | nan | By Dr. Paul Nunzio DeSantis, Pharm.D :
Alpha BioPharma Advisers LLC
Dr. Michael Torres, (( PHD )) Senior Consultant/Managing Partner
Dr. Maxim Kreditor, (( MD )) Oncology Consultant
Our thesis & trade setup are simple :
Karyopharm Therapeutics ( KPTI ) is catalyst-rich over the next 18 months and is at onset of a multi-year re-rate higher. We contend that sell-side models are likely to migrate toward our 15% weighted-average probability of success (possibly higher) in solid tumors over the next 12 months as the market begins to gain appreciation for what we present on Selinexor's solid tumor potential. Additionally, topline data from 3 Registration-Directed trials (SADAL, SIRRT, SOPRA) are expected during 2H16, followed by the STORM study in multiple myeloma (a single-arm trial of 80 quad-refractory patients to: Velcade, Kyprolis, Revlimid, and Pomalyst) in 1H17.
The primary objective of this report is to provide a valuation framework to serve asa launching pointwhere analysts should begin modeling KPTI's XPO1 inhibitor Selinexor in solid tumors ahead of the first interim data from the SIGN trial (gynecologic malignancies) and KING trial (glioblastome) expected at ASCO this weekend (5/29-6/2). We focus our analysis of KPTI's potential in solid tumors on the potential in KRas mut+ NSCLC (15% POS) and KRas mut+ PDAC (7% POS) that collectively represent $196M in risk-adjusted sales, and up to $2B non-risk adjusted sales potential under very conservative pricing and market share (26% and 35% respectively) assumptions. Consequently, our models suggest +120-180% upside over the next 12-18 months.
We believe this is a prudent step and is not premature in the current M&A environment.Recall, AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquired Pharmacyclics (PCYC) for $21B, of which, at least $3B was assigned toward solid tumors, despite the fact that there wasNOproof-of-concept data in humans, as only preclinical data was available. We are not suggesting this as a singular basis for KPTI's valuation; only thatit serves as strong validation for the value of the analysis presented throughout this report .
The options market is pricing in +/- 25% move ($7-$8) by June expiry with implied volatility ranking in the 63rdpercentile over the past 52 weeks at 82%. Total open interest stands at 4,700 contracts, with more than one-third of open interest concentrated at the $30 strikein August . Our valuation work suggests there is 22-42% upside to analyst price targets should data sufficiently meet expectations, and we could see shares meeting the implied move set by the options market.
Our models suggests that there is max downside risk of -34% to what we would consider "floor value" at $18/share using a SOTP analysis including $7/share in cash, and $11/share for DLBCL, r/r AML, and r/r Richter's Transformation.Note, under this scenario,we exclude r/r Multiple Myeloma and all solid tumor indicationsfor Selinexor, as well as all other pipeline assets or indications.
(click to enlarge)
For each major value driver in our model pricing, market share, and treatment durations.
While a few tumor indications such as head/neck cancers and gynecological cancers are included in sell-side models they are small by comparison to this entirely new segment (KRAS+) for which we believe there is strong clinical rationale and preclinical validation (similar to Imbruvica in solid tumors with ABBV that secured a $3B market valuation).
We believe that KPTI has significant upside in these solid tumor types and the markets remains unaware of the strength of the early data available. At the time of this writing, we estimate consensus is attributing less than 3-5% probability of success in solid tumors, and fail to include NSCLC or PDAC at all (2 of the largest cancer markets with the highest unmet need) . We believe throughout the next 18 months, KPTI's valuation will undergo a significant re-rating on the probability of success in various solid tumors from 3-5% today toward ours at 15% by ASCO 2016 in June.
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Due to this heightened level of uncertainty, we offset these risks through additional layers of conservatism in our model's inputs with regards to pricing (assume $7,500 per month, and 0% price inflation through 2030, -25% discount to the average oncology drug and 25-40% below sell-side estimates), market share (we account for competition and assume combination therapy with Selinexor, our peak market share estimates are below sell-side models in several tumor types), and our treatment durations that were based on existing data. For instance, in gynecological cancers, our average revenue per patient treated is $45,000 per patient, while Leerink models $80,000 per patient.
We only include KPTI's lead asset Selinexor in our valuation, but exclude several indications such as AML, Richter's Transformation and all other pipeline assets, and ignore any market potential outside of oncology.Webelieve our conservatism is warranted, as we are the first to model certain solid tumor indications for Selinexor (NSCLC, pancreatic, and Glioblastome Multiforme) . As such, there are risks to our assumptions given that the clinical data are limited, but the market will begin to gain clarity this weekend and over the next 12 months.
That being said, our heavily discounted pricing for Selinexor provides a +25%-40% buffer to any pipeline failures. Additionally, both FDA and EMA granting Selinexor orphan designation for all 4 hematologic indications should streamline KPTI's path to market by 2017. KOLs have suggested that reproducing earlier Ph1/2 efficacy in registration-directed trials is the low hurdle expected for US/EU approvals. KOLs have expressed and set market expectations in r/r DLBCL at 30%+ response rates with 5-6 months duration of response.
Our fully risk-adjusted peak sales estimate of $892M drives base-case price objective of $61/share and is derived from a DCF model through 2030, discounted annually at 12%.
(click to enlarge)
Preclinical Data suggests Selinexor is an effective agent in KRASmut+ NSCLC
For a thorough historical overview of the Ras oncogene, we recommend a recent review inNature
Cancer: The Ras renaissance.
Ras mutations arepresent in 25% in NSCLC cases and >90% of pancreatic cancer that collectively represent at least 77,000 patients per year. By comparison, combining DLBCL, Follicular Lymphoma, and Multiple Myeloma equate to
Targeting the Ras oncogene has proven to be an unattainable goal for drug developers for over 30-years. Yet, we believe indirect downstream targeting of Ras mutations is possible with Selinexor's mechanism of action via XPOI inhibition. Our view is that Selinexor in combination with other agents will provide the first effective means to targeting Ras mutations as a possible Ras "sensitizer." In other words, therapeutic strategies are negligible for this targeted population, thus the barrier to "success" is very low relative to the EGFRmut+ NSCLC market for example that is increasingly becoming entrenched by CLVS' Rocilitinib and AZN's AZD-9291 .
Are we advocating that Selinexor is truly "the one" that will effectively target Ras?Not exactly, even though it might prove effective in KRASm+ tumors on its own, the bigger potential lies in its synergy with other agents that target proteins that Selinexor retains in the nucleus; in the case of KRASm+ tumors, those may include NFkB inhibitors or anti-apoptotic molecules (BCL-2 inhibitor).
Furthermore, Selinexor down regulates BTK expression, and is synergistic with Ibrutinib (blocks BTK function) in CLL and is active in Imbruvica (Ibrutinib)-resistant CLL cells with mutations known to confer Ibrutinib resistance. Will this have read-through for solid tumors as well ?
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Driving our confidence to include this population into our Selinexor sales model is new preclinical data presented at the Keystone Symposia: The Hippo Pathway: Signaling, Development and Disease (E4) May 17-21, 2015. (Title: Oncogenic KRAS - associated selective dependency of NSCLC's on nuclear transport machinery ).
The data presented above highlights significant single agent activity in NSCLC cell lines that have KRAS mutations (highlighted in red) versus cell lines with Wild-Type KRAS using various assays to probe for cell viability. Interestingly, non-malignant lung cells are not affected by Selinexor at therapeutic doses compared to lung cells engineered to express mutant KRAS and have loss of p53. This suggests a favorable therapeutic window. This data is important as there are no effective therapies directed at KRAS in NSCLC, of which ~25% (we model only 20%) of Lung Adenocarcinomas are found with mutant KRAS (Source: Roberts PJ, Stinchcombe TE, Der CJ, Socinski MA. Personalized medicine in non-small-cell lung cancer: is KRAS a useful marker in selecting patients for epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted therapy. J Clin Oncol . 2010;28(31):4769-77.)
This represents about ~36,000 new cases each year. Selinexor may extend into PDAC as ~90% of PDAC samples have mutated KRAS (source: TCGA). This represents ~42,000 of the ~46,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer each year .
The bottom line is recent data have shown that KRASm+ lung cancer cell lines are more sensitive to XPO1 inhibition than wild-type Ras, and also demonstrated that nuclear transport was critical for the viability of KRAS mutant NSCLC lines. The proposed mechanism of Selinexor in KRAS+ NSCLC is that XPO1 inhibition mediates NFkB inhibition via nuclear retention of IkB to selectively induce apoptosis in KRASmut+ cell lines at clinically relevant concentrations of
As guided by management, Selinexor is currently in clinical trials as a single-agent and in combination with various chemotherapeutic agents. Given the mechanism of action, inhibition of nuclear export, there exists the opportunity to couple with DNA damaging agents, and DNA repair mechanisms such as PARP inhibitors, as well as immunotherapy, as the safety profiles overlap minimally. It is critical to appreciate and not minimize the reality that the rate-limiting factor for determining any drug candidates potential as a "combination therapy" is non-overlapping toxicity . Selinexor is well suited for combinations and has a good safety record to date with over 800 patients on Selinexor broadly across 21 clinical trials in numerous heme and solid tumor indications that will enroll >1,300 patients. Thus, the risk for an unknown safety event is decisively lower compared to the majority of oncology focused SMID Caps with drug candidates undergoing clinical trials. Thrombocytopenia is the most prevalent hematologic side effect (20% Gr. 2, 10% Gr. 3, 30% Gr. 4).
The continuing strength and persistence of preclinical data increases our confidence in management to be proactive and engaged with the research community in studying relevant XPO1 biology. This data and along with other studies with Selinexor reveal opportunities to preclinically define molecular and genetic markers that correlate with activity and indicate strategies management may pursue for genomics-guided application of Selinexor, including companion diagnostics or partnerships with Foundation Medicine ( FMI ), similar to CLVS' rucaparib development strategy.
It is critical to appreciate and not minimize the reality that the rate-limiting factor for determining any drug candidate's potential as a "combination therapy" is non-overlapping toxicity . Selinexor is well suited for combinations and has a good safety record to date with over 800 patients exposed to Selinexor. Thus, the risk for an unknown safety event is decisively lower compared to the majority of oncology focused SMID Caps with drug candidates undergoing clinical trials.
In short, we feel that the magnitude of this opportunity in solid tumors is not fully appreciated by the street, and if current preclinical data in KRAS-driven NSCLC holds up in the clinic, this represents a potential market opportunity greater than the current data-driven valuation of Selinexor across hematological malignancies combined.
Selinexor's activity in a phase 1 trial presented at ASH 14 in DLBCL, FL and Richter's transformation showed ORRs of 40%, 50% and 33% respectively. At EHA 15 expanded cohort of 31 pts with DLBCL treated with doses ranging from 3 to 80 mg/m2 achieved ORR of 39% (13% CR) with mPFS of 3.5 mo's. This is similar to Lenalidomide/ Rituxan combination (ORR 35%, CR 11%, mPFS 4 mo's) but not as good as Bendamustine/ Rituxan, albeit the latter was used in less refractory patient population, with ORR 62%, CR 37% and mPFS 6.7 mo's. Selinexor results are likely to improve if given in combination with Rituxan and in earlier lines of therapy.
In GBM, the study demonstrated two partial responses (17%), four stable disease (33%) (ORR 47%) and six progressive disease (50%) responses in this difficult to treat cancer. In gynecologic malignancies, treatment with single-agent Selinexor demonstrated an ORR of 9%, 18%, and 7% for ovarian, endometrial and cervical patients, respectively. Although the effect may seem modest, oncologists we've surveyed are encouraged by these early results in these highly refractive malignancies. In GBM, we risk-adjust sales at 15% leading to a peak $51M by 2025E ($340M non-risk adjusted) and only 26% peak market share in r/r GBM.
In gynecological tumors, Selinexor's preclinical data demonstrates synergy with platinum-based regimens and PARP inhibitors by preventing acquired resistance. Thus, in patients with ovarian cancer who have received an average of 5.5 prior therapies, the PR was 9% and disease control rate (PR + stable disease > 3mo's) of 36%. This is similar to chemotherapy in third line ovarian cancer with ORR of 12% and mPFS of 3.4 mo's .
We model Selinexor's longer-term opportunity in combination therapies in the 3rd line + metastatic, platinum-sensitive setting and include both the BRCANess & BRCA 1/2 populations. While the available data is limited, we assume only 6-months of treatment, and because it most likely will be used in combination therapy, we assume only $7,500 pricing per month, or $30,000 in average revenue per patient in ovarian cancers leading to peak risk-adjusted sales of $153M. Selinexor's nuclear export blockade has been shown in pre-clinical studies to prevent the resistance mechanisms for numerous cancer therapies (e.g., gemcitabine, platinum-based drugs, topoisomerase inh., dexamethasone, proteasome inh., mTOR inh., PARP inh., doxorubicin, melphalan, BRD inh.)
In addition to solid tumor data at ASCO, KPTI will be updating their hematological trials in multiple myeloma at the European Hematology Association ((EHA)) Congress June 11-14. Recall, it was KPTI's Multiple Myeloma data that led to the stock rising over 90%+ at the 2014 EHA Congress. With top-line MM results expected in 1H17, enrollment might be expanded to support an accelerated approval.
XPO1 is responsible for nuclear export of the glucocorticoid receptor ((GR)) and the export of many tumor suppressor proteins ( p53, pRb, IkB, FOXO, p21, p27, p73 ) and inhibits nuclear export and translation of oncogenic mRNA ( MDM2, MYC, Bcl-XL, Cyclin D ). It also potently deactivates NF-kB through nuclear retention ofIkB . Selinexor-induced inhibition of nuclear GR export results in highly synergistic r/r MM cell line killing with GR ligand Dexamethasone. This synergy is highly significant in the clinic as ORR with Selinexor/ Dex 40 mg/wk combination is 60% vs. 0% with Selinexor single agent . This compares very favorably with ORR of 23% with Carfilzomib/ Dex 8 mg/wk, 33% with Pomalidomide/ Dex 40/wk and 40-50% with CD38 monoclonal antibodies in similar patient populations.
The elegant translation of synergy with dexamethasone in cell lines into the clinic in r/r MM provides an important insight into settings in which Selinexor might be most effective: it's where enhanced retention of a key protein in the nucleus is desired in order to effect synergy with an agent targeting that protein. Preclinical synergy, similar to with dexamethasone in r/r MM, has been demonstrated with several chemotherapeutic and targeted agents in different hematologic and solid tumor cell lines.
Selinexor seems to be well tolerated by highly refractory patients. Grade 3/4 toxicities are limited to hematologic and constitutional (fatigue, anorexia, nausea) with the former being more frequent in patients with hematologic malignancies and the later in solid tumors. This leads us to believe that the drug has a great potential in combination therapy across tumor types.
Of nine evaluable patients (as of December 2014) in the Phase I trial of r/r MM, Selinexor demonstrated an 88% disease control rate, a 67% overall response rate and a seven-month duration on treatment in patients who had been treated with a median of seven prior lines of treatment , an impressive result in our view.We view the duration of response ((DOR)) of ~7 months as of Dec. 1st positively and is our base case duration of treatment in MM. For comparison, the median DOR seen in Kyprolis or Pomalyst in combination with low dose dexamethasone was 7.8 months and 7.4 months, respectively, in earlier stage patients . The Selinexor combination with dexamethasone showed a reduction in nausea and weight loss compared to monotherapy in MM. We model most market share in r/r MM at 48% (vs. sell-side>60%) and expect sales to reach $258M risk-adjusted at 40%.
Management's strategy has continued to be focused on getting to market as soon as possible in liquid tumors, then expanding from there through a broad clinical development program across tumor types. It is important to note, that management's emphasis to publish as much data as possible to educate and build the evidence for reimbursement across indications is a positive qualitative factor.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We believe this is a prudent step and is not premature in the current M&A environment.Recall, AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquired Pharmacyclics (PCYC) for $21B, of which, at least $3B was assigned toward solid tumors, despite the fact that there wasNOproof-of-concept data in humans, as only preclinical data was available. While a few tumor indications such as head/neck cancers and gynecological cancers are included in sell-side models they are small by comparison to this entirely new segment (KRAS+) for which we believe there is strong clinical rationale and preclinical validation (similar to Imbruvica in solid tumors with ABBV that secured a $3B market valuation). By Dr. Paul Nunzio DeSantis, Pharm.D : Alpha BioPharma Advisers LLC Dr. Michael Torres, (( PHD )) Senior Consultant/Managing Partner Dr. Maxim Kreditor, (( MD )) Oncology Consultant Our thesis & trade setup are simple : Karyopharm Therapeutics ( KPTI ) is catalyst-rich over the next 18 months and is at onset of a multi-year re-rate higher. | We believe this is a prudent step and is not premature in the current M&A environment.Recall, AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquired Pharmacyclics (PCYC) for $21B, of which, at least $3B was assigned toward solid tumors, despite the fact that there wasNOproof-of-concept data in humans, as only preclinical data was available. While a few tumor indications such as head/neck cancers and gynecological cancers are included in sell-side models they are small by comparison to this entirely new segment (KRAS+) for which we believe there is strong clinical rationale and preclinical validation (similar to Imbruvica in solid tumors with ABBV that secured a $3B market valuation). We focus our analysis of KPTI's potential in solid tumors on the potential in KRas mut+ NSCLC (15% POS) and KRas mut+ PDAC (7% POS) that collectively represent $196M in risk-adjusted sales, and up to $2B non-risk adjusted sales potential under very conservative pricing and market share (26% and 35% respectively) assumptions. | We believe this is a prudent step and is not premature in the current M&A environment.Recall, AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquired Pharmacyclics (PCYC) for $21B, of which, at least $3B was assigned toward solid tumors, despite the fact that there wasNOproof-of-concept data in humans, as only preclinical data was available. While a few tumor indications such as head/neck cancers and gynecological cancers are included in sell-side models they are small by comparison to this entirely new segment (KRAS+) for which we believe there is strong clinical rationale and preclinical validation (similar to Imbruvica in solid tumors with ABBV that secured a $3B market valuation). (click to enlarge) Due to this heightened level of uncertainty, we offset these risks through additional layers of conservatism in our model's inputs with regards to pricing (assume $7,500 per month, and 0% price inflation through 2030, -25% discount to the average oncology drug and 25-40% below sell-side estimates), market share (we account for competition and assume combination therapy with Selinexor, our peak market share estimates are below sell-side models in several tumor types), and our treatment durations that were based on existing data. | While a few tumor indications such as head/neck cancers and gynecological cancers are included in sell-side models they are small by comparison to this entirely new segment (KRAS+) for which we believe there is strong clinical rationale and preclinical validation (similar to Imbruvica in solid tumors with ABBV that secured a $3B market valuation). We believe this is a prudent step and is not premature in the current M&A environment.Recall, AbbVie ( ABBV ) acquired Pharmacyclics (PCYC) for $21B, of which, at least $3B was assigned toward solid tumors, despite the fact that there wasNOproof-of-concept data in humans, as only preclinical data was available. Selinexor-induced inhibition of nuclear GR export results in highly synergistic r/r MM cell line killing with GR ligand Dexamethasone. |
26935.0 | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC | Gilead's New HIV Combination Drug under Review in the EU - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gileads-new-hiv-combination-drug-under-review-in-the-eu-analyst-blog-2015-05-29 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD announced that its investigational fixed-dose combination of Emtriva and tenofovir alafenamide has been accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in combination with other HIV antiretroviral agents.
The company is seeking approval for two doses of the Emtriva/tenofovir alafenamide combination (200/10 mg and 200/25 mg).
Apart from the Emtriva/tenofovir alafenamide combination, an investigational once-daily single tablet regimen comprising Vitekta (150 mg), Tybost (150 mg), Emtriva (200 mg) and tenofovir alafenamide (10 mg) is also under review by the EMA. Additionally, Gilead filed the above investigational combinations for approval in the U.S. on Nov 5, 2014, and Apr 7, 2015, respectively.
We note that HIV is one of the primary areas of focus for Gilead. The company already has a strong HIV portfolio comprising Stribild, Complera, Atripla, Truvada, Viread, Emtriva, Tybost and Vitekta. Gilead generates a substantial portion of its revenues from sales of HIV products especially, Atripla, Complera and Stribild. In 2014, HIV product sales accounted for more than 40% of Gilead's total sales.
However, competition in the HIV landscape is gradually intensifying with other companies launching new treatment options such as ViiV Healthcare's Tivicay and Triumeq (launched in 2013 and in the third quarter of 2014, respectively). Meanwhile, Tybost is facing competition from AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Norvir.
Gilead carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other well-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Actelion Ltd. ALIOF and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. VRX . Both carry the same Zacks Rank as Gilead.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Meanwhile, Tybost is facing competition from AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Norvir. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The company already has a strong HIV portfolio comprising Stribild, Complera, Atripla, Truvada, Viread, Emtriva, Tybost and Vitekta. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Meanwhile, Tybost is facing competition from AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Norvir. Apart from the Emtriva/tenofovir alafenamide combination, an investigational once-daily single tablet regimen comprising Vitekta (150 mg), Tybost (150 mg), Emtriva (200 mg) and tenofovir alafenamide (10 mg) is also under review by the EMA. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Meanwhile, Tybost is facing competition from AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Norvir. Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD announced that its investigational fixed-dose combination of Emtriva and tenofovir alafenamide has been accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in combination with other HIV antiretroviral agents. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Meanwhile, Tybost is facing competition from AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Norvir. Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? |
26936.0 | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC | OEF, ABBV, BA, BIIB: ETF Outflow Alert | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/oef-abbv-ba-biib-etf-outflow-alert-2015-05-28 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the iShares S&P 100 ETF (Symbol: OEF) where we have detected an approximate $56.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 1.3% decrease week over week (from 47,400,000 to 46,800,000). Among the largest underlying components of OEF, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is off about 1%, Boeing Co. (Symbol: BA) is off about 0.5%, and Biogen Inc (Symbol: BIIB) is lower by about 0.8%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the OEF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of OEF, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, OEF's low point in its 52 week range is $81.54 per share, with $94.22 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $93.47. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of OEF, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is off about 1%, Boeing Co. (Symbol: BA) is off about 0.5%, and Biogen Inc (Symbol: BIIB) is lower by about 0.8%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the OEF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of OEF, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, OEF's low point in its 52 week range is $81.54 per share, with $94.22 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $93.47. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of OEF, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is off about 1%, Boeing Co. (Symbol: BA) is off about 0.5%, and Biogen Inc (Symbol: BIIB) is lower by about 0.8%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the OEF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of OEF, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, OEF's low point in its 52 week range is $81.54 per share, with $94.22 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $93.47. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of OEF, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is off about 1%, Boeing Co. (Symbol: BA) is off about 0.5%, and Biogen Inc (Symbol: BIIB) is lower by about 0.8%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the iShares S&P 100 ETF (Symbol: OEF) where we have detected an approximate $56.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 1.3% decrease week over week (from 47,400,000 to 46,800,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the OEF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of OEF, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, OEF's low point in its 52 week range is $81.54 per share, with $94.22 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $93.47. | Among the largest underlying components of OEF, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is off about 1%, Boeing Co. (Symbol: BA) is off about 0.5%, and Biogen Inc (Symbol: BIIB) is lower by about 0.8%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the OEF Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of OEF, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, OEF's low point in its 52 week range is $81.54 per share, with $94.22 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $93.47. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). |
26937.0 | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC | 3 Top Stocks for Investing in Silicon Valley | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/3-top-stocks-investing-silicon-valley-2015-05-28 | nan | nan | A skyline view of the innovation hub we know as Silicon Valley. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Silicon Valley has been part of the tech lore for well over a half-century. From Gordon Moore and the rest of the "traitorous eight" that formed Fairchild Semiconductor , to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founding Apple in a garage, to Mark Zuckerberg leaving Harvard to grow Facebook , the Valley is home to some of the most remarkable stories in the history of business.
And it's still a major commerce center. Each year, Silicon Valley's various companies produce hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and tens of billions in profits. Apple and Facebook alone accounted for $212.3 billion in revenue and $47.4 billion in profit.
A good portion of that is then funneled back into the community in the form of research and development and venture capital. The quarterly MoneyTree report from PricewaterhouseCoopers put first-quarter 2015 VC investment in Silicon Valley at just over $6 billion, or 45% of the U.S. total. In Silicon Valley, chasing the next big thing is a way of life.
The best of the best
How do you single out the cream of such a rich crop? Easy: you take subjectivity out of the equation. The following three Silicon Valley businesses had the highest revenue growth last year.
Depomed . A sort-of junk dealer for the biotech industry in that the company acquires rights to approved treatments that go largely unused, and then markets the heck out of them. In 2014, that strategy pushed revenue up 191%. More recently, the company acquired narcotic pain reliever Nucynta for $1.05 billion. With the company's first-quarter product sales soaring 47% without the new drug's help, it's looking like 2015 will be just as good -- or even better -- than 2014.
Pharmacyclics . Founded in 1991, the old biotech found new life in 2014 as revenue soared 180% year over year thanks to the popularity of its signature cancer treatment, Imbruvica. That attracted a suitor: AbbVie , which earlier this month completed its $21 billion purchase of the drugmaker.
FireEye . The cybersecurity supplier that specializes in "vector-specific" defense grew revenue 163% last year as dozens of companies suffered high-profile data breaches. Appliances for handling Web, email, files, and mobile devices, among other things, appear well positioned as corporate America prepares boosts its spending on network defense. Gartner expects total information security spending to grow 8.2% this year, to $76.9 billion.
Death and disease: the ultimate growth catalysts
If there's a pattern here it's that many of Silicon Valley's top performers operate outside the information technology industry. Four of last year's fastest growers specialize in some form of biotech. Surprised? I wouldn't be. The Valley has always been home to pioneering biotech researchers, including no-longer-independent Genentech.
Maybe that's as it should be. For all its peculiarities, the human body has survived hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. You might even call it the ultimate technology. Silicon Valley's would-be biotech barons are finding ways to tune it.
The next billion-dollar Apple secret
Apple forgot to show you something at its recent event, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering Apple's brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here .
The article 3 Top Stocks for Investing in Silicon Valley originally appeared on Fool.com.
Tim Beyers worked in Silicon Valley in the days before HBO decided to make a show about it. He's also a member of theMotley Fool Rule Breakersstock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission and owned shares of Apple at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+ , Tumblr , or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool .The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Facebook, FireEye, and Gartner. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Facebook. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | That attracted a suitor: AbbVie , which earlier this month completed its $21 billion purchase of the drugmaker. Appliances for handling Web, email, files, and mobile devices, among other things, appear well positioned as corporate America prepares boosts its spending on network defense. Death and disease: the ultimate growth catalysts If there's a pattern here it's that many of Silicon Valley's top performers operate outside the information technology industry. | That attracted a suitor: AbbVie , which earlier this month completed its $21 billion purchase of the drugmaker. Founded in 1991, the old biotech found new life in 2014 as revenue soared 180% year over year thanks to the popularity of its signature cancer treatment, Imbruvica. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+ , Tumblr , or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool .The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Facebook, FireEye, and Gartner. | That attracted a suitor: AbbVie , which earlier this month completed its $21 billion purchase of the drugmaker. Each year, Silicon Valley's various companies produce hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and tens of billions in profits. The following three Silicon Valley businesses had the highest revenue growth last year. | That attracted a suitor: AbbVie , which earlier this month completed its $21 billion purchase of the drugmaker. Each year, Silicon Valley's various companies produce hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and tens of billions in profits. Apple and Facebook alone accounted for $212.3 billion in revenue and $47.4 billion in profit. |
26938.0 | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC | After Hours Most Active for May 27, 2015 : ABBV, INTC, T, QQQ, NRG, CAT, MSFT, BMY, AIG, CMCSA, QCOM, AAPL | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/after-hours-most-active-may-27-2015-abbv-intc-t-qqq-nrg-cat-msft-bmy-aig-cmcsa-qcom-aapl | nan | nan | The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is down -.04 to 4,546.02. The total After hours volume is currently 35,935,396 shares traded.
The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session :
AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is -0.13 at $67.25, with 6,682,901 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range".
Intel Corporation ( INTC ) is +0.004 at $33.71, with 6,050,306 shares traded. INTC's current last sale is 91.12% of the target price of $37.
AT&T Inc. ( T ) is +0.04 at $34.99, with 5,239,844 shares traded. As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for T is 8.842912; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock.
PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 ( QQQ ) is -0.12 at $110.84, with 3,900,020 shares traded. This represents a 22.88% increase from its 52 Week Low.
NRG Energy, Inc. ( NRG ) is -0.0107 at $25.34, with 2,026,670 shares traded. NRG's current last sale is 76.79% of the target price of $33.
Caterpillar, Inc. ( CAT ) is unchanged at $87.92, with 1,589,762 shares traded. CAT's current last sale is 103.44% of the target price of $85.
Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) is -0.1709 at $47.44, with 1,589,555 shares traded. MSFT's current last sale is 94.88% of the target price of $50.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company ( BMY ) is unchanged at $68.40, with 1,418,079 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for BMY is in the "buy range".
American International Group, Inc. ( AIG ) is unchanged at $59.39, with 1,318,576 shares traded. Over the last four weeks they have had 3 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. The consensus EPS forecast is $1.2. AIG's current last sale is 95.79% of the target price of $62.
Comcast Corporation ( CMCSA ) is -0.126 at $59.21, with 1,069,523 shares traded. Over the last four weeks they have had 5 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. The consensus EPS forecast is $0.84. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for CMCSA is in the "buy range".
QUALCOMM Incorporated ( QCOM ) is -1.3627 at $69.66, with 861,259 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for QCOM is in the "buy range".
Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) is -0.045 at $132.00, with 604,269 shares traded. Over the last four weeks they have had 11 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. The consensus EPS forecast is $1.74. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for AAPL is in the "buy range".
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is -0.13 at $67.25, with 6,682,901 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". As reported in the last short interest update the days to cover for T is 8.842912; this calculation is based on the average trading volume of the stock. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is -0.13 at $67.25, with 6,682,901 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". Over the last four weeks they have had 3 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is -0.13 at $67.25, with 6,682,901 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". Over the last four weeks they have had 3 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Jun 2015. | The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session : AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is -0.13 at $67.25, with 6,682,901 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ABBV is in the "buy range". The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is down -.04 to 4,546.02. |
26939.0 | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC | Merck/J&J Get CHMP Backing for Simponi's Expanded Use - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/merck-jj-get-chmp-backing-for-simponis-expanded-use-analyst-blog-2015-05-27 | nan | nan | Merck & Co. Inc.MRK and Johnson & Johnson JNJ announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has given a positive opinion in favor of expanding Simponi's label in the EU.
Simponi is under review in the EU for the treatment of adult patients suffering from severe, active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axial SpA) with objective signs of inflammation as indicated by elevated C-reactive protein and/or magnetic resonance imaging evidence. These patients have also had an inadequate response to, or are intolerant to, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
The favorable opinion of the CHMP will now be reviewed by the European Commission. With the CHMP issuing a positive opinion, we believe chances of Simponi gaining EU approval are high. A decision should be out in the third quarter.
We note that Simponi is currently approved in the EU for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis, active and severe psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy.
Merck recorded Simponi revenues of $689 million in 2014, reflecting an increase of 38%. Approval would further increase the drug's sales potential. We remind investors that Merck has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Biotech Inc. for Simponi's marketing in Europe, Russia and Turkey.
Currently prescribed treatments for nr-axial SpA include AbbVie's ABBV Humira.
Merck currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Currently prescribed treatments for nr-axial SpA include AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Simponi is under review in the EU for the treatment of adult patients suffering from severe, active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axial SpA) with objective signs of inflammation as indicated by elevated C-reactive protein and/or magnetic resonance imaging evidence. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Currently prescribed treatments for nr-axial SpA include AbbVie's ABBV Humira. We note that Simponi is currently approved in the EU for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis, active and severe psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Currently prescribed treatments for nr-axial SpA include AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Merck & Co. Inc.MRK and Johnson & Johnson JNJ announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has given a positive opinion in favor of expanding Simponi's label in the EU. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Currently prescribed treatments for nr-axial SpA include AbbVie's ABBV Humira. Merck & Co. Inc.MRK and Johnson & Johnson JNJ announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has given a positive opinion in favor of expanding Simponi's label in the EU. |
26940.0 | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC | Johnson & Johnson Just Stepped Up Its Hepatitis C Game | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/johnson-johnson-just-stepped-its-hepatitis-c-game-2015-05-21 | nan | nan | For years treatment of hepatitis C has been the platform for Gilead Sciences notoriety and success. But what will happen when partnerships form between a powerhouse, and a technologically innovative corporation?
As Gilead Sciences leads the market with $12.4 billion in sales last year, Johnson & Johnson is pairing its money with Achillion 's technology to create a less invasive, more effective drug that could change the market altogether. Who will you buy?
A full transcript follows the video.
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Michael Douglass : Johnson & Johnson taking a shot at Gilead Sciences. This is Industry Focus.
Hi, Fools! Healthcare analyst, Michael Douglass here with the health care contributor Todd Campbell. Welcome to Wednesday's health care edition of Industry Focus. Have we got a good show for you!
We got a listener question, which we always appreciate. By the way, please send us an email. IndustryFocus@fool.com . Again, that's IndustryFocus@fool.com . Johnathan sent us a question on what we were planning on covering anyway today. Lucky timing on our part there, I guess, but Johnathan asks: "Wanted to get your take on the Hep-C market." Just today, a lot going on with, particularly, Johnson & Johnson and Achillion Pharmaceuticalsand their new hepatitis C tie up.
So, I figured we'd go ahead and zone in and really break down that deal and talk about it. For those of you haven't been with us previously, Gilead Sciences is the big dog in hepatitis C with Sovaldi and Harvoni. These, essentially, hepatitis C cures that, in many cases, remove the need for Interferon and Ribavirin, which are these side effect laden drugs.
Really, a transformative opportunity for the market and for Gilead shareholders who saw -- largely based on growth from hepatitis C -- a 3x, or 4x increase in earnings per share last year, and are looking at some pretty good growth this year, too. As you can imagine, in a massive market like hepatitis C, 150 million people worldwide -- according to some estimates -- have the disease. You can imagine there's going to be some competition.
There has been. AbbVie 's Viekira Pack has gotten off to a slow start, but they are expecting it to be hitting the million dollar run rate by the end of the year, and now we've got Johnson & Johnson -- not a small company by any stretch of the imagination -- and Achillion Pharmaceuticals announcing a tie up just this morning regarding hepatitis C.
So Todd, let's go into the deal a little bit. What's the general headline here?
Todd Campbell: What's really fascinating about this deal is that Achillion was one of the last remaining pure plays in Hep-C.
Douglass: Yeah, they were.
Campbell: As you said, a lot of these competitors really want to knock Gilead off the pedestal and grab a piece of this market. It's a huge market. If you annualize the first quarter sales for Gilead in this indication you're looking at an $18 billion run rate just for Gilead this year alone. That's just remarkable for one company in one indication.
What's interesting about this deal -- there's a couple things that are interesting. First, everybody was hoping Achillion would get bought straight out. Lock, stock, and barrel. Someone would show up, hand a big check over, and acquire the company. So, shares were bid up ahead of that and we always -- at The Motley Fool -- remind people "Don't buy stocks based on acquisition rumors."
Douglass: Ever!
Campbell: Ever! Focus on the technology, the research, the story behind the scenes and come to your own conclusion. There is some disappointment out there that "This company didn't get bought outright." But this deal shouldn't be 'poo-poo'd', if you will. It's really an interesting deal because Johnson & Johnson has a very deep level of experience in Hep-C development. It wasn't that long ago that Johnson & Johnson was in a horse race with Gilead Sciences on coming to market with the first oral treatment for Hep-C.
They had Ilysio in the works. Gilead Sciences drug proved to be better. They both won approval at the end of 2013, Ilysio ended up with about $2 billion in sales last year to Gilead's $12.4 billion in sales. So, Gilead won, but Johnson & Johnson...
Douglass: Hands down.
Campbell: Yeah, hands down. But Johnson's not giving up. This is just further evidence that they are committed to battling in the next generation of Hep-C treatment. Which, in my opinion, is going to focus less on efficacy, and safety -- two things that had been addressed in the first battle -- and next on patient adherence by reducing treatment duration.
Douglass: Yeah. That's going to be -- to my mind at least, and I imagine to yours too, Todd -- this is probably going to be the chance for the Achillion drugs which will now be marketed by Johnson & Johnson. Assuming they ultimately get approved, of course. That's going to be an opportunity ...
Campbell: Achillion could not have gotten a better partner. Johnson & Johnson's got take over all the development costs, all the commercialization costs, and if these drugs succeed in trials -- and that's not a given.
Douglass: Right.
Campbell: Anything can go wrong, derail these trials that are going to be launched by Johnson & Johnson. But if it does pan out, then Johnson & Johnson obviously has a global sales force that could get ramped up and could drive sales for this drug, and actually make a go of it against Gilead. There's a lot that needs to happen between here and there.
Specifically you've got a situation where Johnson & Johnson has now licensed global rights to Achillion HCV, Hep-C pipeline. That pipeline includes ACH3102, and ACH3102 is a next generation, S5A inhibitor. Basically it targets the same target that Ledipasvir does in Gilead's top selling Harvoni -- which is a mashup of that Ledipasvir and Sovaldi.
So, the idea is "Can we come up with a better combination that would deliver similar efficacy, but do it in a shorter treatment duration?" In very small trials, they've been able to effectively cure patients in both six weeks and eight weeks by combining ACH3102 and Sovaldi. That has gotten people's attention.
It's like, if J&J license 3102 -- which it has -- and then it can take that and combine it with -- it acquired some drugs that worked similarly to the way Sovaldi does, last fall when it bought Alios and got their nuke pipeline -- So, they can combine it with that, then possibly they can come up with a pan genotype drug that would outperform, or equally perform with Harvoni, but require patients to take it for less time.
Douglass: Right, and when you think about this, folks, at the end of the day efficacy and safety are the Holy Grail. It's going to be -- in this market, if you're not effectively curing Hep-C, you're not competing because that's just where the bar has been set by Gilead Sciences. But, the other thing we're increasingly hearing -- not just from insurers and PBMs, and consumer advocacy groups, but also from governments around the world -- is there are concerns about increasing health care expenses.
So, when you think about that opportunity with a shorter duration drug, if you price it per pill, or per treatment, the same as the longer duration drug, it's going to end up being cheaper. And if you can cut down that amount of time you have to take a drug then there's less opportunity for patients to actually forget to take a pill, go off treatment for whatever reason. That means you should theoretically also have a benefit to curate.
So, it's cheaper, and also you have better adherence. That looks like a win-win. I think that is definitely -- Todd, I think you hit the nail on the head -- that's definitely what Johnson & Johnson is targeting here. The question of course is: How many things have to line up for that to go well, and for this to actually have been a good deal that can knock Gilead off its pedestal?
Campbell: A lot of things. There's no question. You look at it, and historically 90% of drugs that enter human clinical trials fail. When investors are going out and they're looking at the news announcements, these press releases, "This drug did great in phase I, this drug did great in phase II." Well, 30% to 40% of drugs that go into phase III fail. So, people have to take that with a grain of salt. There's a lot of stuff that could go wrong here.
That being said, we already talked about J&J. They probably wouldn't have entered into this deal and committed as much money as they did to the deal. The deal -- basically what they said is "Not only are we going to license these drugs from you, take over the cost of developing and commercializing them, but we're also going to agree to offer you up to $1 billion in milestones if the drugs work out" -- which is obviously a lot given that Achillion's current market cap is $1 billion -- "We're also going to give you royalties in the mid-teens to low 20s, and then on top that we're also going to buy a bunch of shares in your company."
Douglass: Right.
Campbell: Johnson's making a pretty big commitment to the technology that Achillion has. Whether or not that proves to be money well spent -- Johnson's got the money to spend. So, it can take the hit if it doesn't pan out, but there's still a lot of questions that need to be answered.
Douglass: Yeah. I would say, me personally as a Gilead shareholder -- Todd, I can't speak for you as a Gilead shareholder -- but me personally as a Gilead shareholder; I'm not that concerned yet. I think it could be a threat to Gilead some years down the road. If the data lines up and if FDA approval comes, and if commercialization goes well. But in the here and now, you've still got Sovaldi and Harvoni indisputably -- I think --winning these markets.
And Gilead isn't exactly sitting on its hands either. They're looking at opportunities to do new indications within Hep-C and then also to reduce that treatment time as well.
Campbell: Yeah. You've got -- Gilead is not just going to sit by and give this battle up easily.
Douglass: No! Not after it's made so much money at it.
Campbell: No! They have a slate of intriguing drugs in their own pipeline that could end up developing a Harvoni -- which is approved for use in genotype I -- they could end up developing that type of a drug for all the other genotypes as well. We're going to get some data on that. That includes Gilead's 5816 combined with Sovaldi.
That data should come in the third quarter. If it looks good you could get a filing by the end of the year, approval at some point in 2016. That would be a big win for Gilead. You also have, further down in the pipeline, triplet combination that is being studied for 6, 8, and 12 week duration period.
So, you could end up getting a 6 week treatment coming out of Gilead in the next few years as well, too.
Douglass: Yeah. At the end of the day, this is definitely and intriguing combination. It could be another big player coming into this space, but I think it's just too early to tell.
Campbell: Right. I own two of the three players. I don't own Johnson & Johnson currently.
Douglass: Oh, see I do. So, I guess we balance each other out.
Campbell: Yeah. The two of us have all three covered. But my position in Achillion is small. Much smaller than it is in Gilead. That's my full disclosure on that front.
Douglass: Yeah. Exactly. Well, that sounds good. Todd, thanks for your take, as always. Folks, again, we love questions. It's always a nice opportunity to see what people are thinking about and to try and learn a bit more about it and it's a nice excuse for us to go dig into a company. Sometimes one -- not so much in the Hep-C space because as you've been listening now, we just love talking about this.
But sometimes to look into a company that we haven't looked into in a while. It's always such a pleasure. So please, send us an email. IndustryFocus@Fool.com . Again, that's IndustryFocus@Fool.com .
Thanks for listening. Stay tuned for Industry Focus tomorrow. Todd, thank you as always. For The Motley Fool, I'm Michael Douglass. Happy investing out there and Fool on!
The article Johnson & Johnson Just Stepped Up Its Hepatitis C Game originally appeared on Fool.com.
Michael Douglass owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. Todd Campbell owns shares of ACHILLION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie 's Viekira Pack has gotten off to a slow start, but they are expecting it to be hitting the million dollar run rate by the end of the year, and now we've got Johnson & Johnson -- not a small company by any stretch of the imagination -- and Achillion Pharmaceuticals announcing a tie up just this morning regarding hepatitis C. So Todd, let's go into the deal a little bit. So, shares were bid up ahead of that and we always -- at The Motley Fool -- remind people "Don't buy stocks based on acquisition rumors." Which, in my opinion, is going to focus less on efficacy, and safety -- two things that had been addressed in the first battle -- and next on patient adherence by reducing treatment duration. | AbbVie 's Viekira Pack has gotten off to a slow start, but they are expecting it to be hitting the million dollar run rate by the end of the year, and now we've got Johnson & Johnson -- not a small company by any stretch of the imagination -- and Achillion Pharmaceuticals announcing a tie up just this morning regarding hepatitis C. So Todd, let's go into the deal a little bit. Michael Douglass owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. Todd Campbell owns shares of ACHILLION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. and Gilead Sciences. | AbbVie 's Viekira Pack has gotten off to a slow start, but they are expecting it to be hitting the million dollar run rate by the end of the year, and now we've got Johnson & Johnson -- not a small company by any stretch of the imagination -- and Achillion Pharmaceuticals announcing a tie up just this morning regarding hepatitis C. So Todd, let's go into the deal a little bit. As Gilead Sciences leads the market with $12.4 billion in sales last year, Johnson & Johnson is pairing its money with Achillion 's technology to create a less invasive, more effective drug that could change the market altogether. It wasn't that long ago that Johnson & Johnson was in a horse race with Gilead Sciences on coming to market with the first oral treatment for Hep-C. | AbbVie 's Viekira Pack has gotten off to a slow start, but they are expecting it to be hitting the million dollar run rate by the end of the year, and now we've got Johnson & Johnson -- not a small company by any stretch of the imagination -- and Achillion Pharmaceuticals announcing a tie up just this morning regarding hepatitis C. So Todd, let's go into the deal a little bit. So, shares were bid up ahead of that and we always -- at The Motley Fool -- remind people "Don't buy stocks based on acquisition rumors." Which, in my opinion, is going to focus less on efficacy, and safety -- two things that had been addressed in the first battle -- and next on patient adherence by reducing treatment duration. |
26941.0 | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC | Bristol-Myers' HCV Combination Designation Amended by FDA - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/bristol-myers-hcv-combination-designation-amended-by-fda-analyst-blog-2015-05-21 | nan | nan | Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyBMY announced that the FDA has amended its previously granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational combination - daclatasvir and Gilead Sciences' GILD Sovaldi - for use in hepatitis C (HCV) patients.
We note the combination was earlier granted the designation in 2013. Nevertheless, given the recent significant developments in the field of HCV, the FDA has decided to review, modify, and in some cases, rescind previously granted HCV-related designations.
The updated designation for the combination will now reflect recent data on HCV genotype 1 patients with advanced cirrhosis as well as those who develop genotype 1 HCV recurrence post liver transplant. The designation will be supported by encouraging data from a phase III trial, ALLY-1. This study evaluated a 12-week regimen of daclatasvir and Sovaldi once daily with ribavirin for treatment of patients with HCV, involving either advanced cirrhosis or post-liver transplant recurrence of HCV. The study met its primary endpoint.
We note that in Mar 2015, Bristol-Myers resubmitted the new drug application for daclatasvir to be used in combination with Sovaldi for treatment of chronic HCV genotype 3. The original NDA was amended to include positive data from a phase III trial, ALLY-3. Results from this study showed high cure rates for the combination, with sustained virologic response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12) in 90% of treatment-naïve and 86% of treatment-experienced genotype 3 HCV patients. A final decision from the FDA is expected within six months.
The designation from the FDA is intended to expedite the development and review of drugs for serious or life-threatening conditions, and is generally designated to candidates that show substantial improvement on at least one clinically significant endpoint over available therapy.
For the last couple of years, the highly lucrative HCV market has been the focus area for most of the big biotech companies. Pricing competition among the approved products is also intense. Gilead Sciences is a key player in the HCV market with drugs like Sovaldi and Harvoni. AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV all-oral, interferon-free therapy with/without ribavirin, Viekira Pak, was approved in Dec 2014 by the FDA.
Bristol-Myers currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the healthcare sector is Actelion ALIOF , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV all-oral, interferon-free therapy with/without ribavirin, Viekira Pak, was approved in Dec 2014 by the FDA. Click to get this free report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyBMY announced that the FDA has amended its previously granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational combination - daclatasvir and Gilead Sciences' GILD Sovaldi - for use in hepatitis C (HCV) patients. | Click to get this free report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV all-oral, interferon-free therapy with/without ribavirin, Viekira Pak, was approved in Dec 2014 by the FDA. Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyBMY announced that the FDA has amended its previously granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational combination - daclatasvir and Gilead Sciences' GILD Sovaldi - for use in hepatitis C (HCV) patients. | Click to get this free report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV all-oral, interferon-free therapy with/without ribavirin, Viekira Pak, was approved in Dec 2014 by the FDA. Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyBMY announced that the FDA has amended its previously granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational combination - daclatasvir and Gilead Sciences' GILD Sovaldi - for use in hepatitis C (HCV) patients. | AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV all-oral, interferon-free therapy with/without ribavirin, Viekira Pak, was approved in Dec 2014 by the FDA. Click to get this free report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyBMY announced that the FDA has amended its previously granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational combination - daclatasvir and Gilead Sciences' GILD Sovaldi - for use in hepatitis C (HCV) patients. |
26942.0 | 2015-05-20 00:00:00 UTC | What Is the S&P 500 Index? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/what-sp-500-index-2015-05-20 | nan | nan | The S&P 500 Index, created by Standard and Poors, is considered the most accurate representation of the broader stock market. The S&P 500 is, unsurprisingly, made up of 500 separate U.S. stocks spanning all sectors of the economy. These stocks combine to represent roughly 80% of available market capitalization. The smallest components are required to have market caps of at least $5.3 billion. The largest, Apple , is valued at more than $700 billion.
While the Dow weights stocks by share price, the S&P 500 index weights stocks by market cap, so it's driven by the biggest companies. Stocks that no longer fit the market cap, liquidity, or domicile requirements are switched out for eligible companies.
Here's a complete list of components that currently make up the S&P 500:
Company Name Ticker Primary Industry
3M Company Industrial Conglomerates
Abbott Laboratories Healthcare Equipment
AbbVie Pharmaceuticals
Accenture plc IT Consulting and Other Services
ACE Limited Property and Casualty Insurance
Actavis plc Pharmaceuticals
Adobe Systems Incorporated Application Software
Aetna Managed Healthcare
Affiliated Managers Group Asset Management and Custody Banks
AFLAC Life and Health Insurance
Agilent Technologies Life Sciences Tools and Services
AGL Resources Gas Utilities
Air Products & Chemicals Industrial Gases
Airgas, Industrial Gases
Akamai Technologies Internet Software and Services
Alcoa Aluminum
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology
Allegheny Technologies Steel
Allegion Plc Building Products
Alliance Data Systems Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Altera Corp. Semiconductors
Altria Group Tobacco
Amazon.com Internet Retail
Ameren Corporation Multi-Utilities
American Airlines Group Airlines
American Electric Power Co. Electric Utilities
American Express Company Consumer Finance
American International Group Multi-line Insurance
American Tower Corporation Specialized REITs
Ameriprise Financial, Asset Management and Custody Banks
AmerisourceBergen Corporation Healthcare Distributors
Ametek Electrical Components and Equipment
Amgen Biotechnology
Amphenol Corporation Electronic Components
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Analog Devices Semiconductors
Anthem Managed Healthcare
Aon plc Insurance Brokers
Apache Corp. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Apartment Investment and Management Company Residential REITs
Apple Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
Applied Materials Semiconductor Equipment
Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Agricultural Products
Assurant Multi-line Insurance
AT&T Integrated Telecommunication Services
Autodesk Application Software
Automatic Data Processing Data Processing and Outsourced Services
AutoNation Automotive Retail
AutoZone, Automotive Retail
Avago Technologies Limited Semiconductors
Avalonbay Communities Residential REITs
Avery Dennison Corporation Paper Packaging
Baker Hughes Incorporated Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
Ball Corporation Metal and Glass Containers
Bank of America Corporation Diversified Banks
Baxter International Healthcare Equipment
BB&T Corporation Regional Banks
Becton, Dickinson and Company Healthcare Equipment
Bed Bath & Beyond Home Furnishing Retail
Berkshire Hathaway Multi-Sector Holdings
Best Buy Co. Computer and Electronics Retail
Biogen Biotechnology
BlackRock Asset Management and Custody Banks
BorgWarner Auto Parts and Equipment
Boston Properties Office REITs
Boston Scientific Corporation Healthcare Equipment
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceuticals
Broadcom Corp. Semiconductors
Brown-Forman Corporation Distillers and Vintners
CA Systems Software
Cablevision Systems Corporation Cable and Satellite
Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Cameron International Corporation Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
Campbell Soup Company Packaged Foods and Meats
Capital One Financial Corporation Consumer Finance
Cardinal Health Healthcare Distributors
CarMax Automotive Retail
Carnival Corporation Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines
Caterpillar Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks
CBRE Group Real Estate Services
CBS Corporation Broadcasting
Celgene Corporation Biotechnology
CenterPoint Energy Multi-Utilities
CenturyLink Integrated Telecommunication Services
Cerner Corporation Health Care Technology
CF Industries Holdings Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals
CH Robinson Worldwide Air Freight and Logistics
Chesapeake Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Chevron Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas
Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants
Cigna Corp. Managed Healthcare
Cimarex Energy Co. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Cincinnati Financial Corp. Property and Casualty Insurance
Cintas Corporation Diversified Support Services
Cisco Systems Communications Equipment
Citigroup Diversified Banks
Citrix Systems Application Software
CME Group Specialized Finance
CMS Energy Corp. Multi-Utilities
Coach Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Coca-Cola Enterprises Soft Drinks
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services
Colgate-Palmolive Co. Household Products
Comcast Corporation Cable and Satellite
Comerica Incorporated Diversified Banks
Computer Sciences Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services
ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods and Meats
ConocoPhillips Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
CONSOL Energy Coal and Consumable Fuels
Consolidated Edison Multi-Utilities
Constellation Brands Distillers and Vintners
Corning Electronic Components
Costco Wholesale Corporation Hypermarkets and Super Centers
CR Bard Healthcare Equipment
Crown Castle International Corp. Specialized REITs
CSX Corp. Railroads
Cummins Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks
CVS Health Corporation Drug Retail
Danaher Corp. Industrial Conglomerates
Darden Restaurants Restaurants
DaVita HealthCare Partners Healthcare Services
Deere & Company Agricultural and Farm Machinery
Delphi Automotive PLC Auto Parts and Equipment
Delta Air Lines Airlines
DENTSPLY International Healthcare Supplies
Devon Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Diamond Offshore Drilling Oil and Gas Drilling
DIRECTV Cable and Satellite
Discover Financial Services Consumer Finance
Discovery Communications (Class A) Broadcasting
Discovery Communications (Class C) Broadcasting
Dollar General Corporation General Merchandise Stores
Dollar Tree General Merchandise Stores
Dominion Resources Multi-Utilities
Dover Corporation Industrial Machinery
DR Horton Homebuilding
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Soft Drinks
DTE Energy Company Multi-Utilities
Duke Energy Corporation Electric Utilities
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Research and Consulting Services
E*TRADE Financial Corporation Investment Banking and Brokerage
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Diversified Chemicals
Eastman Chemical Co. Diversified Chemicals
Eaton Corporation plc Electrical Components and Equipment
eBay Internet Software and Services
Ecolab Specialty Chemicals
Edison International Electric Utilities
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. Healthcare Equipment
Electronic Arts Home Entertainment Software
Eli Lilly and Company Pharmaceuticals
EMC Corporation Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
Emerson Electric Co. Electrical Components and Equipment
Endo International plc Pharmaceuticals
Ensco plc Oil and Gas Drilling
Entergy Corporation Electric Utilities
EOG Resources Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
EQT Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Equifax Research and Consulting Services
Equinix Internet Software and Services
Equity Residential Residential REITs
Essex Property Trust Residential REITs
Eversource Energy Electric Utilities
Exelon Corporation Electric Utilities
Expedia Internet Retail
Expeditors International of Washington Air Freight and Logistics
Express Scripts Holding Company Healthcare Services
ExxonMobil Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas
F5 Networks Communications Equipment
Facebook Internet Software and Services
Family Dollar Stores General Merchandise Stores
Fastenal Company Trading Companies and Distributors
FedEx Corporation Air Freight and Logistics
Fidelity National Information Services Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Fifth Third Bancorp Regional Banks
First Solar Semiconductors
FirstEnergy Corp. Electric Utilities
Fiserv Data Processing and Outsourced Services
FLIR Systems Electronic Equipment and Instruments
Flowserve Corp. Industrial Machinery
Fluor Corporation Construction and Engineering
FMC Corp. Diversified Chemicals
FMC Technologies Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
Ford Motor Co. Automobile Manufacturers
Fossil Group Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Franklin Resources Asset Management and Custody Banks
Freeport-McMoRan Diversified Metals and Mining
Frontier Communications Corporation Integrated Telecommunication Services
GameStop Corp. Computer and Electronics Retail
Gannett Co. Publishing
Garmin Ltd. Consumer Electronics
General Dynamics Corporation Aerospace and Defense
General Electric Company Industrial Conglomerates
General Growth Properties, Inc Retail REITs
General Mills Packaged Foods and Meats
General Motors Company Automobile Manufacturers
Genuine Parts Company Distributors
Genworth Financial Multi-line Insurance
Gilead Sciences Biotechnology
Google (Class C) Internet Software and Services
Google (Class A) Internet Software and Services
H&R Block Specialized Consumer Services
Halliburton Company Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
Hanesbrands Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Manufacturers
Harman International Industries, Incorporated Consumer Electronics
Harris Corporation Communications Equipment
Hasbro Leisure Products
HCA Holdings Healthcare Facilities
HCP Healthcare REITs
Health Care REIT Healthcare REITs
Helmerich & Payne Oil and Gas Drilling
Henry Schein Healthcare Distributors
Hess Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Hewlett-Packard Company Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
Honeywell International Aerospace and Defense
Hormel Foods Corporation Packaged Foods and Meats
Hospira Pharmaceuticals
Host Hotels & Resorts Hotel and Resort REITs
Hudson City Bancorp Thrifts and Mortgage Finance
Humana Managed Healthcare
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Regional Banks
Illinois Tool Works Industrial Machinery
Ingersoll-Rand Plc Industrial Machinery
Integrys Energy Group Multi-Utilities
Intel Corporation Semiconductors
Intercontinental Exchange Specialized Finance
International Business Machines Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services
International Flavors & Fragrances Specialty Chemicals
International Paper Company Paper Products
Intuit Application Software
Intuitive Surgical Healthcare Equipment
Invesco Ltd. Asset Management and Custody Banks
Iron Mountain Specialized REITs
Jacobs Engineering Group Construction and Engineering
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals
Johnson Controls Auto Parts and Equipment
Joy Global Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Diversified Banks
Juniper Networks Communications Equipment
Kansas City Southern Railroads
Kellogg Company Packaged Foods and Meats
Keurig Green Mountain Packaged Foods and Meats
KeyCorp. Regional Banks
Kimberly-Clark Corporation Household Products
Kimco Realty Corporation Retail REITs
Kinder Morgan Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation
KLA-Tencor Corporation Semiconductor Equipment
Kohl's Corp. Department Stores
Kraft Foods Group Packaged Foods and Meats
L Brands Apparel Retail
L-3 Communications Holdings Aerospace and Defense
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings Healthcare Services
Lam Research Corporation Semiconductor Equipment
Legg Mason Asset Management and Custody Banks
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated Home Furnishings
Lennar Corp. Homebuilding
Leucadia National Corporation Multi-Sector Holdings
Level 3 Communications Alternative Carriers
Lincoln National Corporation Life and Health Insurance
Linear Technology Corporation Semiconductors
Lockheed Martin Corporation Aerospace and Defense
Loews Corporation Multi-line Insurance
Lorillard Tobacco
Lowe's Companies Home Improvement Retail
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. Commodity Chemicals
M&T Bank Corporation Regional Banks
Macy's Department Stores
Mallinckrodt public limited company Pharmaceuticals
Marathon Oil Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Marathon Petroleum Corporation Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing
Marriott International Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines
Marsh & McLennan Companies Insurance Brokers
Martin Marietta Materials Construction Materials
Masco Corporation Building Products
MasterCard Incorporated Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Mattel Leisure Products
McCormick & Company, Incorporated Packaged Foods and Meats
McDonald's Corp. Restaurants
McGraw Hill Financial Specialized Finance
McKesson Corporation Healthcare Distributors
Mead Johnson Nutrition Company Packaged Foods and Meats
MeadWestvaco Corporation Paper Packaging
Medtronic plc Healthcare Equipment
Merck & Co. Pharmaceuticals
MetLife Life and Health Insurance
Michael Kors Holdings Limited Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Microchip Technology Semiconductors
Micron Technology Semiconductors
Microsoft Corporation Systems Software
Mohawk Industries Home Furnishings
Molson Coors Brewing Company Brewers
Mondelez International Packaged Foods and Meats
Monsanto Company Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals
Monster Beverage Corporation Soft Drinks
Moody's Corporation Specialized Finance
Morgan Stanley Investment Banking and Brokerage
Motorola Solutions Communications Equipment
Murphy Oil Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Mylan N.V. Pharmaceuticals
National Oilwell Varco Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
Navient Corporation Consumer Finance
NetApp Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
Netflix Internet Retail
Newell Rubbermaid Housewares and Specialties
Newfield Exploration Co. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Newmont Mining Corporation Gold
News Corporation Publishing
NextEra Energy Electric Utilities
Nielsen N.V. Research and Consulting Services
Nike Footwear
NiSource Multi-Utilities
Noble Corporation plc Oil and Gas Drilling
Noble Energy Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Nordstrom Department Stores
Norfolk Southern Corporation Railroads
Northern Trust Corporation Asset Management and Custody Banks
Northrop Grumman Corporation Aerospace and Defense
NRG Energy Independent Power Producers and Energy Traders
Nucor Corporation Steel
NVIDIA Corporation Semiconductors
Occidental Petroleum Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas
Omnicom Group Advertising
ONEOK Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation
Oracle Corporation Systems Software
O'Reilly Automotive Automotive Retail
Owens-Illinois Metal and Glass Containers
PACCAR Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks
Pall Corporation Industrial Machinery
Parker-Hannifin Corporation Industrial Machinery
Patterson Companies Healthcare Distributors
Paychex Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Pentair plc Industrial Machinery
People's United Financial Thrifts and Mortgage Finance
Pepco Holdings Electric Utilities
Pepsico Soft Drinks
PerkinElmer Life Sciences Tools and Services
Perrigo Company Public Limited Company Pharmaceuticals
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
PG&E Corporation Multi-Utilities
Philip Morris International Tobacco
Phillips 66 Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Electric Utilities
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Pitney Bowes Office Services and Supplies
Plum Creek Timber Co. Specialized REITs
PPG Industries Specialty Chemicals
PPL Corporation Electric Utilities
Praxair Industrial Gases
Precision Castparts Corp. Aerospace and Defense
Principal Financial Group Life and Health Insurance
Progressive Corp. Property and Casualty Insurance
Prologis Industrial REITs
Prudential Financial Life and Health Insurance
Public Service Enterprise Group Multi-Utilities
Public Storage Specialized REITs
PulteGroup Homebuilding
PVH Corp. Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
QEP Resources Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
QUALCOMM Incorporated Communications Equipment
Quanta Services, Construction and Engineering
Quest Diagnostics Healthcare Services
Ralph Lauren Corporation Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Range Resources Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Raytheon Company Aerospace and Defense
Realty Income Corporation Retail REITs
Red Hat, Systems Software
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology
Regions Financial Corporation Regional Banks
Republic Services Environmental and Facilities Services
Reynolds American Tobacco
Robert Half International Human Resource and Employment Services
Rockwell Automation Electrical Components and Equipment
Rockwell Collins Aerospace and Defense
Roper Industries Industrial Conglomerates
Ross Stores Apparel Retail
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines
Ryder System Trucking
salesforce.com, inc. Application Software
SanDisk Corp. Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
SCANA Corp. Multi-Utilities
Schlumberger Limited Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
Scripps Networks Interactive Broadcasting
Seagate Technology Public Limited Company Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
Sealed Air Corporation Paper Packaging
Sempra Energy Multi-Utilities
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation Specialty Chemicals
Simon Property Group Retail REITs
Skyworks Solutions Semiconductors
SL Green Realty Corp. Office REITs
Snap-on Incorporated Industrial Machinery
Southern Company Electric Utilities
Southwest Airlines Co. Airlines
Southwestern Energy Co. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Spectra Energy Corp. Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation
St. Jude Medical Healthcare Equipment
Stanley Black & Decker Industrial Machinery
Staples Specialty Stores
Starbucks Corporation Restaurants
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines
State Street Corporation Asset Management and Custody Banks
Stericycle Environmental and Facilities Services
Stryker Corporation Healthcare Equipment
SunTrust Banks Regional Banks
Symantec Corporation Systems Software
Sysco Corporation Food Distributors
T. Rowe Price Group Asset Management and Custody Banks
Target Corp. General Merchandise Stores
TE Connectivity Ltd. Electronic Manufacturing Services
TECO Energy Multi-Utilities
Tenet Healthcare Corp. Healthcare Facilities
Teradata Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services
Tesoro Corporation Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing
Texas Instruments Semiconductors
Textron Aerospace and Defense
The ADT Corporation Security and Alarm Services
The AES Corporation Independent Power Producers and Energy Traders
The Allstate Corporation Property and Casualty Insurance
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Asset Management and Custody Banks
The Boeing Company Aerospace and Defense
The Charles Schwab Corporation Investment Banking and Brokerage
The Chubb Corporation Property and Casualty Insurance
The Clorox Company Household Products
The Coca-Cola Company Soft Drinks
The Dow Chemical Company Diversified Chemicals
The Estée Lauder Companies Personal Products
The Gap Apparel Retail
The Goldman Sachs Group Investment Banking and Brokerage
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Tires and Rubber
The Hartford Financial Services Group Multi-line Insurance
The Hershey Company Packaged Foods and Meats
The Home Depot Home Improvement Retail
The Interpublic Group of Companies Advertising
The J. M. Smucker Company Packaged Foods and Meats
The Kroger Co. Food Retail
The Macerich Company Retail REITs
The Mosaic Company Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals
The Nasdaq OMX Group Specialized Finance
The PNC Financial Services Group Regional Banks
The Priceline Group Internet Retail
The Procter & Gamble Company Household Products
The Sherwin-Williams Company Specialty Chemicals
The TJX Companies Apparel Retail
The Travelers Companies Property and Casualty Insurance
The Walt Disney Company Movies and Entertainment
The Western Union Company Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Sciences Tools and Services
Tiffany & Co. Specialty Stores
Time Warner Cable Cable and Satellite
Time Warner Movies and Entertainment
Torchmark Corporation Life and Health Insurance
Total System Services Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Tractor Supply Company Specialty Stores
Transocean Ltd. Oil and Gas Drilling
TripAdvisor Internet Retail
Twenty-First Century Fox Movies and Entertainment
Tyco International Ltd. Security and Alarm Services
Tyson Foods Packaged Foods and Meats
US Bancorp Diversified Banks
Under Armour Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Union Pacific Corporation Railroads
United Parcel Service Air Freight and Logistics
United Rentals Trading Companies and Distributors
United Technologies Corporation Aerospace and Defense
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Managed Healthcare
Universal Health Services Healthcare Facilities
Unum Group Life and Health Insurance
Urban Outfitters Apparel Retail
V.F. Corporation Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods
Valero Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing
Varian Medical Systems Healthcare Equipment
Ventas Healthcare REITs
VeriSign Internet Software and Services
Verizon Communications Integrated Telecommunication Services
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Biotechnology
Viacom Movies and Entertainment
Visa Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Vornado Realty Trust Office REITs
Vulcan Materials Company Construction Materials
W.W. Grainger Trading Companies and Distributors
Walgreens Boots Alliance Drug Retail
Wal-Mart Stores Hypermarkets and Super Centers
Waste Management Environmental and Facilities Services
Waters Corporation Life Sciences Tools and Services
Wells Fargo & Company Diversified Banks
Western Digital Corporation Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals
Weyerhaeuser Co. Specialized REITs
Whirlpool Corp. Household Appliances
Whole Foods Market Food Retail
Williams Companies Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation
Wisconsin Energy Corp. Multi-Utilities
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines
Wynn Resorts Ltd. Casinos and Gaming
Xcel Energy Electric Utilities
Xerox Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services
Xilinx Semiconductors
XL Group plc Property and Casualty Insurance
Xylem Industrial Machinery
Yahoo! Internet Software and Services
Yum! Brands Restaurants
Zimmer Holdings Healthcare Equipment
Zions Bancorporation Regional Banks
Zoetis Pharmaceuticals
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the_motley_fool has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Accenture, Adobe Systems, Aflac, Amazon.com, American Express, American Tower, Anthem, and Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Automatic Data Processing, Bank of America, Baxter International, Bed Bath & Beyond, Berkshire Hathaway, BorgWarner, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, CarMax, Celgene, Cerner, Chevron, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends Cintas, Cisco Systems, Coach, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Corning, Costco Wholesale, Cummins, CVS Health, Discovery Communications, Dominion Resources, eBay, Emerson Electric, Equinix, and Express Scripts. The Motley Fool recommends Facebook, FedEx, FMC Technologies, Ford, Fossil, General Motors, Gilead Sciences, Google (A shares), Google (C shares), Halliburton, Hasbro, Health Care REIT, Illinois Tool Works, Intel, Intercontinental Exchange, Intuit, Intuitive Surgical, Johnson & Johnson, Keurig Green Mountain, Kimberly-Clark, and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool recommends Leucadia National, Linear Technology, Loews, MasterCard, McCormick, McKesson, Michael Kors Holdings, Monster Beverage, National Oilwell Varco, Netflix, Nike, Nordstrom, Nucor, Nvidia, Omnicom Group, and Oneok. The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs, Home Depot, Priceline Group, Procter & Gamble, Sherwin-Williams, TripAdvisor, Under Armour, United Parcel Service, UnitedHealth Group, Urban Outfitters, Verizon Communications, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Visa, Walt Disney, Wells Fargo, Whole Foods Market, Wisconsin Energy, and Yahoo. The Motley Fool owns shares of PNC Financial Services, Priceline Group, TripAdvisor, Under Armour, Varian Medical Systems,, Visa, Walt Disney, Waste Management, Wells Fargo, Western Digital., Whole Foods Market, and Yahoo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Leucadia National, MasterCard, Michael Kors Holdings, Monster Beverage, National Oilwell Varco, Netflix, Nike, NRG Energy,, Oracle, and O'Reilly Automotive. The Motley Fool recommends Paccar, PepsiCo, Precision Castparts, Progressive, Republic Services, Robert Half International, Salesforce.com, Scripps Networks Interactive, Southern Company, Spectra Energy, Starbucks, Stericycle, and Teradata. The Motley Fool owns shares of Paccar, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, Sealed Air., Skyworks Solutions, Spectra Energy, Staples, Starbucks, and Stericycle. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook, Fifth Third Bancorp, Fluor, Ford, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold,, Gannett, General Electric Company, Gilead Sciences, Google (A shares), Google (C shares), Halliburton, Hasbro, Huntington Bancshares,, International Business Machines, Intuit, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson Controls,, JPMorgan Chase, KeyCorp, and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of Citigroup Inc, Coach, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Corning, Costco Wholesale, Cummins, Devon Energy, Discovery Communications, eBay, Ecolab,, EOG Resources,, Express Scripts, and ExxonMobil. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Capital One Financial., CarMax, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, American International Group, American Tower, and Apple and has the following options: long January 2017 $80 calls on American Tower, long January 2016 $37 calls on Coca-Cola and short January 2016 $37 puts on Coca-Cola. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Here's a complete list of components that currently make up the S&P 500: Company Name Ticker Primary Industry 3M Company Industrial Conglomerates Abbott Laboratories Healthcare Equipment AbbVie Pharmaceuticals Accenture plc IT Consulting and Other Services ACE Limited Property and Casualty Insurance Actavis plc Pharmaceuticals Adobe Systems Incorporated Application Software Aetna Managed Healthcare Affiliated Managers Group Asset Management and Custody Banks AFLAC Life and Health Insurance Agilent Technologies Life Sciences Tools and Services AGL Resources Gas Utilities Air Products & Chemicals Industrial Gases Airgas, Industrial Gases Akamai Technologies Internet Software and Services Alcoa Aluminum Alexion Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology Allegheny Technologies Steel Allegion Plc Building Products Alliance Data Systems Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services Altera Corp. Semiconductors Altria Group Tobacco Amazon.com Internet Retail Ameren Corporation Multi-Utilities American Airlines Group Airlines American Electric Power Co. Electric Utilities American Express Company Consumer Finance American International Group Multi-line Insurance American Tower Corporation Specialized REITs Ameriprise Financial, Asset Management and Custody Banks AmerisourceBergen Corporation Healthcare Distributors Ametek Electrical Components and Equipment Amgen Biotechnology Amphenol Corporation Electronic Components Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Analog Devices Semiconductors Anthem Managed Healthcare Aon plc Insurance Brokers Apache Corp. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Apartment Investment and Management Company Residential REITs Apple Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Applied Materials Semiconductor Equipment Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Agricultural Products Assurant Multi-line Insurance AT&T Integrated Telecommunication Services Autodesk Application Software Automatic Data Processing Data Processing and Outsourced Services AutoNation Automotive Retail AutoZone, Automotive Retail Avago Technologies Limited Semiconductors Avalonbay Communities Residential REITs Avery Dennison Corporation Paper Packaging Baker Hughes Incorporated Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Ball Corporation Metal and Glass Containers Bank of America Corporation Diversified Banks Baxter International Healthcare Equipment BB&T Corporation Regional Banks Becton, Dickinson and Company Healthcare Equipment Bed Bath & Beyond Home Furnishing Retail Berkshire Hathaway Multi-Sector Holdings Best Buy Co. Computer and Electronics Retail Biogen Biotechnology BlackRock Asset Management and Custody Banks BorgWarner Auto Parts and Equipment Boston Properties Office REITs Boston Scientific Corporation Healthcare Equipment Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceuticals Broadcom Corp. Semiconductors Brown-Forman Corporation Distillers and Vintners CA Systems Software Cablevision Systems Corporation Cable and Satellite Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Cameron International Corporation Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Campbell Soup Company Packaged Foods and Meats Capital One Financial Corporation Consumer Finance Cardinal Health Healthcare Distributors CarMax Automotive Retail Carnival Corporation Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines Caterpillar Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks CBRE Group Real Estate Services CBS Corporation Broadcasting Celgene Corporation Biotechnology CenterPoint Energy Multi-Utilities CenturyLink Integrated Telecommunication Services Cerner Corporation Health Care Technology CF Industries Holdings Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals CH Robinson Worldwide Air Freight and Logistics Chesapeake Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Chevron Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants Cigna Corp. Automobile Manufacturers Fossil Group Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Franklin Resources Asset Management and Custody Banks Freeport-McMoRan Diversified Metals and Mining Frontier Communications Corporation Integrated Telecommunication Services GameStop Corp. Computer and Electronics Retail Gannett Co. Publishing Garmin Ltd. Consumer Electronics General Dynamics Corporation Aerospace and Defense General Electric Company Industrial Conglomerates General Growth Properties, Inc Retail REITs General Mills Packaged Foods and Meats General Motors Company Automobile Manufacturers Genuine Parts Company Distributors Genworth Financial Multi-line Insurance Gilead Sciences Biotechnology Google (Class C) Internet Software and Services Google (Class A) Internet Software and Services H&R Block Specialized Consumer Services Halliburton Company Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Hanesbrands Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Manufacturers Harman International Industries, Incorporated Consumer Electronics Harris Corporation Communications Equipment Hasbro Leisure Products HCA Holdings Healthcare Facilities HCP Healthcare REITs Health Care REIT Healthcare REITs Helmerich & Payne Oil and Gas Drilling Henry Schein Healthcare Distributors Hess Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Hewlett-Packard Company Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Honeywell International Aerospace and Defense Hormel Foods Corporation Packaged Foods and Meats Hospira Pharmaceuticals Host Hotels & Resorts Hotel and Resort REITs Hudson City Bancorp Thrifts and Mortgage Finance Humana Managed Healthcare Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Regional Banks Illinois Tool Works Industrial Machinery Ingersoll-Rand Plc Industrial Machinery Integrys Energy Group Multi-Utilities Intel Corporation Semiconductors Intercontinental Exchange Specialized Finance International Business Machines Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services International Flavors & Fragrances Specialty Chemicals International Paper Company Paper Products Intuit Application Software Intuitive Surgical Healthcare Equipment Invesco Ltd. Asset Management and Custody Banks Iron Mountain Specialized REITs Jacobs Engineering Group Construction and Engineering Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Johnson Controls Auto Parts and Equipment Joy Global Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks JPMorgan Chase & Co. Diversified Banks Juniper Networks Communications Equipment Kansas City Southern Railroads Kellogg Company Packaged Foods and Meats Keurig Green Mountain Packaged Foods and Meats KeyCorp. The Motley Fool recommends Cintas, Cisco Systems, Coach, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Corning, Costco Wholesale, Cummins, CVS Health, Discovery Communications, Dominion Resources, eBay, Emerson Electric, Equinix, and Express Scripts. | Here's a complete list of components that currently make up the S&P 500: Company Name Ticker Primary Industry 3M Company Industrial Conglomerates Abbott Laboratories Healthcare Equipment AbbVie Pharmaceuticals Accenture plc IT Consulting and Other Services ACE Limited Property and Casualty Insurance Actavis plc Pharmaceuticals Adobe Systems Incorporated Application Software Aetna Managed Healthcare Affiliated Managers Group Asset Management and Custody Banks AFLAC Life and Health Insurance Agilent Technologies Life Sciences Tools and Services AGL Resources Gas Utilities Air Products & Chemicals Industrial Gases Airgas, Industrial Gases Akamai Technologies Internet Software and Services Alcoa Aluminum Alexion Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology Allegheny Technologies Steel Allegion Plc Building Products Alliance Data Systems Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services Altera Corp. Semiconductors Altria Group Tobacco Amazon.com Internet Retail Ameren Corporation Multi-Utilities American Airlines Group Airlines American Electric Power Co. Electric Utilities American Express Company Consumer Finance American International Group Multi-line Insurance American Tower Corporation Specialized REITs Ameriprise Financial, Asset Management and Custody Banks AmerisourceBergen Corporation Healthcare Distributors Ametek Electrical Components and Equipment Amgen Biotechnology Amphenol Corporation Electronic Components Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Analog Devices Semiconductors Anthem Managed Healthcare Aon plc Insurance Brokers Apache Corp. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Apartment Investment and Management Company Residential REITs Apple Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Applied Materials Semiconductor Equipment Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Agricultural Products Assurant Multi-line Insurance AT&T Integrated Telecommunication Services Autodesk Application Software Automatic Data Processing Data Processing and Outsourced Services AutoNation Automotive Retail AutoZone, Automotive Retail Avago Technologies Limited Semiconductors Avalonbay Communities Residential REITs Avery Dennison Corporation Paper Packaging Baker Hughes Incorporated Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Ball Corporation Metal and Glass Containers Bank of America Corporation Diversified Banks Baxter International Healthcare Equipment BB&T Corporation Regional Banks Becton, Dickinson and Company Healthcare Equipment Bed Bath & Beyond Home Furnishing Retail Berkshire Hathaway Multi-Sector Holdings Best Buy Co. Computer and Electronics Retail Biogen Biotechnology BlackRock Asset Management and Custody Banks BorgWarner Auto Parts and Equipment Boston Properties Office REITs Boston Scientific Corporation Healthcare Equipment Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceuticals Broadcom Corp. Semiconductors Brown-Forman Corporation Distillers and Vintners CA Systems Software Cablevision Systems Corporation Cable and Satellite Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Cameron International Corporation Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Campbell Soup Company Packaged Foods and Meats Capital One Financial Corporation Consumer Finance Cardinal Health Healthcare Distributors CarMax Automotive Retail Carnival Corporation Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines Caterpillar Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks CBRE Group Real Estate Services CBS Corporation Broadcasting Celgene Corporation Biotechnology CenterPoint Energy Multi-Utilities CenturyLink Integrated Telecommunication Services Cerner Corporation Health Care Technology CF Industries Holdings Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals CH Robinson Worldwide Air Freight and Logistics Chesapeake Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Chevron Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants Cigna Corp. Specialized REITs CSX Corp. Railroads Cummins Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks CVS Health Corporation Drug Retail Danaher Corp. Industrial Conglomerates Darden Restaurants Restaurants DaVita HealthCare Partners Healthcare Services Deere & Company Agricultural and Farm Machinery Delphi Automotive PLC Auto Parts and Equipment Delta Air Lines Airlines DENTSPLY International Healthcare Supplies Devon Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Diamond Offshore Drilling Oil and Gas Drilling DIRECTV Cable and Satellite Discover Financial Services Consumer Finance Discovery Communications (Class A) Broadcasting Discovery Communications (Class C) Broadcasting Dollar General Corporation General Merchandise Stores Dollar Tree General Merchandise Stores Dominion Resources Multi-Utilities Dover Corporation Industrial Machinery DR Horton Homebuilding Dr Pepper Snapple Group Soft Drinks DTE Energy Company Multi-Utilities Duke Energy Corporation Electric Utilities Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Research and Consulting Services E*TRADE Financial Corporation Investment Banking and Brokerage E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Diversified Chemicals Eastman Chemical Co. Diversified Chemicals Eaton Corporation plc Electrical Components and Equipment eBay Internet Software and Services Ecolab Specialty Chemicals Edison International Electric Utilities Edwards Lifesciences Corp. Healthcare Equipment Electronic Arts Home Entertainment Software Eli Lilly and Company Pharmaceuticals EMC Corporation Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Emerson Electric Co. Electrical Components and Equipment Endo International plc Pharmaceuticals Ensco plc Oil and Gas Drilling Entergy Corporation Electric Utilities EOG Resources Oil and Gas Exploration and Production EQT Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Equifax Research and Consulting Services Equinix Internet Software and Services Equity Residential Residential REITs Essex Property Trust Residential REITs Eversource Energy Electric Utilities Exelon Corporation Electric Utilities Expedia Internet Retail Expeditors International of Washington Air Freight and Logistics Express Scripts Holding Company Healthcare Services ExxonMobil Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas F5 Networks Communications Equipment Facebook Internet Software and Services Family Dollar Stores General Merchandise Stores Fastenal Company Trading Companies and Distributors FedEx Corporation Air Freight and Logistics Fidelity National Information Services Data Processing and Outsourced Services Fifth Third Bancorp Regional Banks First Solar Semiconductors FirstEnergy Corp. Electric Utilities Fiserv Data Processing and Outsourced Services FLIR Systems Electronic Equipment and Instruments Flowserve Corp. Industrial Machinery Fluor Corporation Construction and Engineering FMC Corp. Diversified Chemicals FMC Technologies Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Ford Motor Co. Automobile Manufacturers Fossil Group Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Franklin Resources Asset Management and Custody Banks Freeport-McMoRan Diversified Metals and Mining Frontier Communications Corporation Integrated Telecommunication Services GameStop Corp. Computer and Electronics Retail Gannett Co. Publishing Garmin Ltd. Consumer Electronics General Dynamics Corporation Aerospace and Defense General Electric Company Industrial Conglomerates General Growth Properties, Inc Retail REITs General Mills Packaged Foods and Meats General Motors Company Automobile Manufacturers Genuine Parts Company Distributors Genworth Financial Multi-line Insurance Gilead Sciences Biotechnology Google (Class C) Internet Software and Services Google (Class A) Internet Software and Services H&R Block Specialized Consumer Services Halliburton Company Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Hanesbrands Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Manufacturers Harman International Industries, Incorporated Consumer Electronics Harris Corporation Communications Equipment Hasbro Leisure Products HCA Holdings Healthcare Facilities HCP Healthcare REITs Health Care REIT Healthcare REITs Helmerich & Payne Oil and Gas Drilling Henry Schein Healthcare Distributors Hess Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Hewlett-Packard Company Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Honeywell International Aerospace and Defense Hormel Foods Corporation Packaged Foods and Meats Hospira Pharmaceuticals Host Hotels & Resorts Hotel and Resort REITs Hudson City Bancorp Thrifts and Mortgage Finance Humana Managed Healthcare Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Regional Banks Illinois Tool Works Industrial Machinery Ingersoll-Rand Plc Industrial Machinery Integrys Energy Group Multi-Utilities Intel Corporation Semiconductors Intercontinental Exchange Specialized Finance International Business Machines Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services International Flavors & Fragrances Specialty Chemicals International Paper Company Paper Products Intuit Application Software Intuitive Surgical Healthcare Equipment Invesco Ltd. Asset Management and Custody Banks Iron Mountain Specialized REITs Jacobs Engineering Group Construction and Engineering Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Johnson Controls Auto Parts and Equipment Joy Global Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks JPMorgan Chase & Co. Diversified Banks Juniper Networks Communications Equipment Kansas City Southern Railroads Kellogg Company Packaged Foods and Meats Keurig Green Mountain Packaged Foods and Meats KeyCorp. | Here's a complete list of components that currently make up the S&P 500: Company Name Ticker Primary Industry 3M Company Industrial Conglomerates Abbott Laboratories Healthcare Equipment AbbVie Pharmaceuticals Accenture plc IT Consulting and Other Services ACE Limited Property and Casualty Insurance Actavis plc Pharmaceuticals Adobe Systems Incorporated Application Software Aetna Managed Healthcare Affiliated Managers Group Asset Management and Custody Banks AFLAC Life and Health Insurance Agilent Technologies Life Sciences Tools and Services AGL Resources Gas Utilities Air Products & Chemicals Industrial Gases Airgas, Industrial Gases Akamai Technologies Internet Software and Services Alcoa Aluminum Alexion Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology Allegheny Technologies Steel Allegion Plc Building Products Alliance Data Systems Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services Altera Corp. Semiconductors Altria Group Tobacco Amazon.com Internet Retail Ameren Corporation Multi-Utilities American Airlines Group Airlines American Electric Power Co. Electric Utilities American Express Company Consumer Finance American International Group Multi-line Insurance American Tower Corporation Specialized REITs Ameriprise Financial, Asset Management and Custody Banks AmerisourceBergen Corporation Healthcare Distributors Ametek Electrical Components and Equipment Amgen Biotechnology Amphenol Corporation Electronic Components Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Analog Devices Semiconductors Anthem Managed Healthcare Aon plc Insurance Brokers Apache Corp. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Apartment Investment and Management Company Residential REITs Apple Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Applied Materials Semiconductor Equipment Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Agricultural Products Assurant Multi-line Insurance AT&T Integrated Telecommunication Services Autodesk Application Software Automatic Data Processing Data Processing and Outsourced Services AutoNation Automotive Retail AutoZone, Automotive Retail Avago Technologies Limited Semiconductors Avalonbay Communities Residential REITs Avery Dennison Corporation Paper Packaging Baker Hughes Incorporated Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Ball Corporation Metal and Glass Containers Bank of America Corporation Diversified Banks Baxter International Healthcare Equipment BB&T Corporation Regional Banks Becton, Dickinson and Company Healthcare Equipment Bed Bath & Beyond Home Furnishing Retail Berkshire Hathaway Multi-Sector Holdings Best Buy Co. Computer and Electronics Retail Biogen Biotechnology BlackRock Asset Management and Custody Banks BorgWarner Auto Parts and Equipment Boston Properties Office REITs Boston Scientific Corporation Healthcare Equipment Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceuticals Broadcom Corp. Semiconductors Brown-Forman Corporation Distillers and Vintners CA Systems Software Cablevision Systems Corporation Cable and Satellite Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Cameron International Corporation Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Campbell Soup Company Packaged Foods and Meats Capital One Financial Corporation Consumer Finance Cardinal Health Healthcare Distributors CarMax Automotive Retail Carnival Corporation Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines Caterpillar Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks CBRE Group Real Estate Services CBS Corporation Broadcasting Celgene Corporation Biotechnology CenterPoint Energy Multi-Utilities CenturyLink Integrated Telecommunication Services Cerner Corporation Health Care Technology CF Industries Holdings Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals CH Robinson Worldwide Air Freight and Logistics Chesapeake Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Chevron Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants Cigna Corp. Specialized REITs CSX Corp. Railroads Cummins Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks CVS Health Corporation Drug Retail Danaher Corp. Industrial Conglomerates Darden Restaurants Restaurants DaVita HealthCare Partners Healthcare Services Deere & Company Agricultural and Farm Machinery Delphi Automotive PLC Auto Parts and Equipment Delta Air Lines Airlines DENTSPLY International Healthcare Supplies Devon Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Diamond Offshore Drilling Oil and Gas Drilling DIRECTV Cable and Satellite Discover Financial Services Consumer Finance Discovery Communications (Class A) Broadcasting Discovery Communications (Class C) Broadcasting Dollar General Corporation General Merchandise Stores Dollar Tree General Merchandise Stores Dominion Resources Multi-Utilities Dover Corporation Industrial Machinery DR Horton Homebuilding Dr Pepper Snapple Group Soft Drinks DTE Energy Company Multi-Utilities Duke Energy Corporation Electric Utilities Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Research and Consulting Services E*TRADE Financial Corporation Investment Banking and Brokerage E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Diversified Chemicals Eastman Chemical Co. Diversified Chemicals Eaton Corporation plc Electrical Components and Equipment eBay Internet Software and Services Ecolab Specialty Chemicals Edison International Electric Utilities Edwards Lifesciences Corp. Healthcare Equipment Electronic Arts Home Entertainment Software Eli Lilly and Company Pharmaceuticals EMC Corporation Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Emerson Electric Co. Electrical Components and Equipment Endo International plc Pharmaceuticals Ensco plc Oil and Gas Drilling Entergy Corporation Electric Utilities EOG Resources Oil and Gas Exploration and Production EQT Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Equifax Research and Consulting Services Equinix Internet Software and Services Equity Residential Residential REITs Essex Property Trust Residential REITs Eversource Energy Electric Utilities Exelon Corporation Electric Utilities Expedia Internet Retail Expeditors International of Washington Air Freight and Logistics Express Scripts Holding Company Healthcare Services ExxonMobil Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas F5 Networks Communications Equipment Facebook Internet Software and Services Family Dollar Stores General Merchandise Stores Fastenal Company Trading Companies and Distributors FedEx Corporation Air Freight and Logistics Fidelity National Information Services Data Processing and Outsourced Services Fifth Third Bancorp Regional Banks First Solar Semiconductors FirstEnergy Corp. Electric Utilities Fiserv Data Processing and Outsourced Services FLIR Systems Electronic Equipment and Instruments Flowserve Corp. Industrial Machinery Fluor Corporation Construction and Engineering FMC Corp. Diversified Chemicals FMC Technologies Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Ford Motor Co. Application Software SanDisk Corp. Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals SCANA Corp. Multi-Utilities Schlumberger Limited Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Scripps Networks Interactive Broadcasting Seagate Technology Public Limited Company Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Sealed Air Corporation Paper Packaging Sempra Energy Multi-Utilities Sigma-Aldrich Corporation Specialty Chemicals Simon Property Group Retail REITs Skyworks Solutions Semiconductors SL Green Realty Corp. Office REITs Snap-on Incorporated Industrial Machinery Southern Company Electric Utilities Southwest Airlines Co. Airlines Southwestern Energy Co. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Spectra Energy Corp. Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation St. Jude Medical Healthcare Equipment Stanley Black & Decker Industrial Machinery Staples Specialty Stores Starbucks Corporation Restaurants Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines State Street Corporation Asset Management and Custody Banks Stericycle Environmental and Facilities Services Stryker Corporation Healthcare Equipment SunTrust Banks Regional Banks Symantec Corporation Systems Software Sysco Corporation Food Distributors T. Rowe Price Group Asset Management and Custody Banks Target Corp. General Merchandise Stores TE Connectivity Ltd. Electronic Manufacturing Services TECO Energy Multi-Utilities Tenet Healthcare Corp. Healthcare Facilities Teradata Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services Tesoro Corporation Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing Texas Instruments Semiconductors Textron Aerospace and Defense The ADT Corporation Security and Alarm Services The AES Corporation Independent Power Producers and Energy Traders The Allstate Corporation Property and Casualty Insurance The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Asset Management and Custody Banks The Boeing Company Aerospace and Defense The Charles Schwab Corporation Investment Banking and Brokerage The Chubb Corporation Property and Casualty Insurance The Clorox Company Household Products The Coca-Cola Company Soft Drinks The Dow Chemical Company Diversified Chemicals The Estée Lauder Companies Personal Products The Gap Apparel Retail The Goldman Sachs Group Investment Banking and Brokerage The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Tires and Rubber The Hartford Financial Services Group Multi-line Insurance The Hershey Company Packaged Foods and Meats The Home Depot Home Improvement Retail The Interpublic Group of Companies Advertising The J. M. Smucker Company Packaged Foods and Meats The Kroger Co. Food Retail The Macerich Company Retail REITs The Mosaic Company Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals The Nasdaq OMX Group Specialized Finance The PNC Financial Services Group Regional Banks The Priceline Group Internet Retail The Procter & Gamble Company Household Products The Sherwin-Williams Company Specialty Chemicals The TJX Companies Apparel Retail The Travelers Companies Property and Casualty Insurance The Walt Disney Company Movies and Entertainment The Western Union Company Data Processing and Outsourced Services Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Sciences Tools and Services Tiffany & Co. | Here's a complete list of components that currently make up the S&P 500: Company Name Ticker Primary Industry 3M Company Industrial Conglomerates Abbott Laboratories Healthcare Equipment AbbVie Pharmaceuticals Accenture plc IT Consulting and Other Services ACE Limited Property and Casualty Insurance Actavis plc Pharmaceuticals Adobe Systems Incorporated Application Software Aetna Managed Healthcare Affiliated Managers Group Asset Management and Custody Banks AFLAC Life and Health Insurance Agilent Technologies Life Sciences Tools and Services AGL Resources Gas Utilities Air Products & Chemicals Industrial Gases Airgas, Industrial Gases Akamai Technologies Internet Software and Services Alcoa Aluminum Alexion Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology Allegheny Technologies Steel Allegion Plc Building Products Alliance Data Systems Corporation Data Processing and Outsourced Services Altera Corp. Semiconductors Altria Group Tobacco Amazon.com Internet Retail Ameren Corporation Multi-Utilities American Airlines Group Airlines American Electric Power Co. Electric Utilities American Express Company Consumer Finance American International Group Multi-line Insurance American Tower Corporation Specialized REITs Ameriprise Financial, Asset Management and Custody Banks AmerisourceBergen Corporation Healthcare Distributors Ametek Electrical Components and Equipment Amgen Biotechnology Amphenol Corporation Electronic Components Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Analog Devices Semiconductors Anthem Managed Healthcare Aon plc Insurance Brokers Apache Corp. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Apartment Investment and Management Company Residential REITs Apple Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Applied Materials Semiconductor Equipment Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Agricultural Products Assurant Multi-line Insurance AT&T Integrated Telecommunication Services Autodesk Application Software Automatic Data Processing Data Processing and Outsourced Services AutoNation Automotive Retail AutoZone, Automotive Retail Avago Technologies Limited Semiconductors Avalonbay Communities Residential REITs Avery Dennison Corporation Paper Packaging Baker Hughes Incorporated Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Ball Corporation Metal and Glass Containers Bank of America Corporation Diversified Banks Baxter International Healthcare Equipment BB&T Corporation Regional Banks Becton, Dickinson and Company Healthcare Equipment Bed Bath & Beyond Home Furnishing Retail Berkshire Hathaway Multi-Sector Holdings Best Buy Co. Computer and Electronics Retail Biogen Biotechnology BlackRock Asset Management and Custody Banks BorgWarner Auto Parts and Equipment Boston Properties Office REITs Boston Scientific Corporation Healthcare Equipment Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceuticals Broadcom Corp. Semiconductors Brown-Forman Corporation Distillers and Vintners CA Systems Software Cablevision Systems Corporation Cable and Satellite Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Cameron International Corporation Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Campbell Soup Company Packaged Foods and Meats Capital One Financial Corporation Consumer Finance Cardinal Health Healthcare Distributors CarMax Automotive Retail Carnival Corporation Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines Caterpillar Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks CBRE Group Real Estate Services CBS Corporation Broadcasting Celgene Corporation Biotechnology CenterPoint Energy Multi-Utilities CenturyLink Integrated Telecommunication Services Cerner Corporation Health Care Technology CF Industries Holdings Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals CH Robinson Worldwide Air Freight and Logistics Chesapeake Energy Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Chevron Corporation Integrated Oil and Gas Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants Cigna Corp. While the Dow weights stocks by share price, the S&P 500 index weights stocks by market cap, so it's driven by the biggest companies. Automobile Manufacturers Fossil Group Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Franklin Resources Asset Management and Custody Banks Freeport-McMoRan Diversified Metals and Mining Frontier Communications Corporation Integrated Telecommunication Services GameStop Corp. Computer and Electronics Retail Gannett Co. Publishing Garmin Ltd. Consumer Electronics General Dynamics Corporation Aerospace and Defense General Electric Company Industrial Conglomerates General Growth Properties, Inc Retail REITs General Mills Packaged Foods and Meats General Motors Company Automobile Manufacturers Genuine Parts Company Distributors Genworth Financial Multi-line Insurance Gilead Sciences Biotechnology Google (Class C) Internet Software and Services Google (Class A) Internet Software and Services H&R Block Specialized Consumer Services Halliburton Company Oil and Gas Equipment and Services Hanesbrands Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Manufacturers Harman International Industries, Incorporated Consumer Electronics Harris Corporation Communications Equipment Hasbro Leisure Products HCA Holdings Healthcare Facilities HCP Healthcare REITs Health Care REIT Healthcare REITs Helmerich & Payne Oil and Gas Drilling Henry Schein Healthcare Distributors Hess Corporation Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Hewlett-Packard Company Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals Honeywell International Aerospace and Defense Hormel Foods Corporation Packaged Foods and Meats Hospira Pharmaceuticals Host Hotels & Resorts Hotel and Resort REITs Hudson City Bancorp Thrifts and Mortgage Finance Humana Managed Healthcare Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Regional Banks Illinois Tool Works Industrial Machinery Ingersoll-Rand Plc Industrial Machinery Integrys Energy Group Multi-Utilities Intel Corporation Semiconductors Intercontinental Exchange Specialized Finance International Business Machines Corporation IT Consulting and Other Services International Flavors & Fragrances Specialty Chemicals International Paper Company Paper Products Intuit Application Software Intuitive Surgical Healthcare Equipment Invesco Ltd. Asset Management and Custody Banks Iron Mountain Specialized REITs Jacobs Engineering Group Construction and Engineering Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Johnson Controls Auto Parts and Equipment Joy Global Construction Machinery and Heavy Trucks JPMorgan Chase & Co. Diversified Banks Juniper Networks Communications Equipment Kansas City Southern Railroads Kellogg Company Packaged Foods and Meats Keurig Green Mountain Packaged Foods and Meats KeyCorp. |
26943.0 | 2015-05-20 00:00:00 UTC | Achillion and Johnson & Johnson in $1.1B HCV Tie-Up - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/achillion-and-johnson-johnson-in-%241.1b-hcv-tie-up-analyst-blog-2015-05-20 | nan | nan | The highly lucrative and competitive hepatitis C virus (HCV) market is back in focus with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ACHN striking a global license and collaboration deal with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The agreement focuses on the development and commercialization of one or more of Achillion's key HCV treatments including ACH-3102, ACH-3422 and sovaprevir.
Terms of the Deal
As per agreement terms, Achillion will provide Janssen with an exclusive, global license to develop and, if approved, commercialize HCV drugs including regimens containing one or more of Achillion's HCV treatments. In exchange, Achillion will be eligible to receive a number of payments depending on the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales related milestones. These payments can amount to as much as $1.1 billion plus tiered royalties between mid-teens and low-twenties on future worldwide sales. Moreover, Janssen will fund all development costs as well as costs associated with the commercialization of the HCV assets.
In a separate equity transaction deal, Johnson & Johnson will invest $225 million in Achillion for about 18.4 million shares of common stock at $12.25 per share.
Specifically, one of the primary objectives of the collaboration will be the development of a short -duration, highly effective, pan-genotypic, oral regimen for the treatment of HCV. Achillion's ACH-3102 (a second-generation NS5A inhibitor - phase II) in combination with an NS3/4A HCV protease inhibitor plus an NS5B HCV polymerase inhibitor will be evaluated initially. We note that ACH-3102 enjoys Fast Track status in the U.S.
We remind investors that Achillion has been working on bringing shorter duration HCV drugs to the market. Earlier this year, the company had reported encouraging interim data from a mid-stage study on ACH-3102 in combination with Gilead's GILD Sovaldi. Results showed that all patients including those with a high baseline viral load in the six-week treatment duration arm achieved 100% sustained viral response at 12 weeks. With these encouraging results, Achillion intends to cut short the treatment duration further to 4 weeks.
Our Take
We are positive on Achillion's agreement with Johnson & Johnson. The deal provides Achillion with a strong partner as well as funds. On the other hand, Johnson &Johnson, which has been struggling with its HCV drug Olysio, will look to recover its market share.
Competition in the HCV market is growing intense given the presence of companies like Gilead and AbbVie ABBV and many others looking to bring their HCV treatments to the market.
Achillion currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Gilead is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Competition in the HCV market is growing intense given the presence of companies like Gilead and AbbVie ABBV and many others looking to bring their HCV treatments to the market. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACHILLION PHARM (ACHN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. In exchange, Achillion will be eligible to receive a number of payments depending on the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales related milestones. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACHILLION PHARM (ACHN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Competition in the HCV market is growing intense given the presence of companies like Gilead and AbbVie ABBV and many others looking to bring their HCV treatments to the market. The highly lucrative and competitive hepatitis C virus (HCV) market is back in focus with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ACHN striking a global license and collaboration deal with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACHILLION PHARM (ACHN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Competition in the HCV market is growing intense given the presence of companies like Gilead and AbbVie ABBV and many others looking to bring their HCV treatments to the market. The highly lucrative and competitive hepatitis C virus (HCV) market is back in focus with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ACHN striking a global license and collaboration deal with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACHILLION PHARM (ACHN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Competition in the HCV market is growing intense given the presence of companies like Gilead and AbbVie ABBV and many others looking to bring their HCV treatments to the market. The highly lucrative and competitive hepatitis C virus (HCV) market is back in focus with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ACHN striking a global license and collaboration deal with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
26944.0 | 2015-05-18 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie's Humira Gets FDA Orphan Status for Skin Disease - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvies-humira-gets-fda-orphan-status-for-skin-disease-analyst-blog-2015-05-18 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug status to Humira for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS - Hurley stage II and Hurley stage III disease).
The FDA usually grants orphan drug status to novel drugs or biologics being developed as a potential treatment for rare diseases/conditions that affect less than 200,000 people in the U.S. or more than 200,000 people but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing the drug. This status should make Humira eligible for seven years of market exclusivity for the treatment of HS, on approval.
Currently, Humira is under review both in the U.S. and EU for the same indication.
We note that Humira is the key growth driver at AbbVie. The product generated global revenues of $12.5 billion in 2014. It contributed 63.1% to the company's total net sales during this period.
Humira is already approved for several indications including psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and plaque psoriasis arthritis among others in the U.S.
Meanwhile, AbbVie is working on expanding Humira's label further. The company is evaluating Humira for the treatment of adult patients with active non-infectious intermediate, posterior or panuveitis.
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD , Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SNSS and Actelion Ltd. ALIOF . All three hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug status to Humira for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS - Hurley stage II and Hurley stage III disease). We note that Humira is the key growth driver at AbbVie. Meanwhile, AbbVie is working on expanding Humira's label further. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug status to Humira for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS - Hurley stage II and Hurley stage III disease). Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report SUNESIS PHARMA (SNSS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that Humira is the key growth driver at AbbVie. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug status to Humira for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS - Hurley stage II and Hurley stage III disease). Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report SUNESIS PHARMA (SNSS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that Humira is the key growth driver at AbbVie. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTELION LTD (ALIOF): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report SUNESIS PHARMA (SNSS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc.ABBV announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug status to Humira for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS - Hurley stage II and Hurley stage III disease). We note that Humira is the key growth driver at AbbVie. |
26945.0 | 2015-05-17 00:00:00 UTC | Is Gilead Sciences Its Own Worst Enemy? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gilead-sciences-its-own-worst-enemy-2015-05-17 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences is a top dog when it comes to developing treatments for infectious diseases. The company's single-table regimen drugs for HIV, for example, have come to dominate the market in both the U.S. and EU:
On the hepatitis C front, Gilead estimates that it presently controls around 90% of the market with Sovaldi and Harvoni, crushing its closest competitors from AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb .
Because of the stunning success of Gilead's latest infectious disease medicines, the biotech's operating cash flows have flown higher in the past 12 months:
Gilead has therefore been able to reward shareholders via a massive $15 billion share buyback program, and through a quarterly dividend payment that is set to start being doled out in the second quarter of this year.
The company's share price has nevertheless lagged behind the biotech sector in general:
The most confusing aspect about the performance of Gilead's share price, though, has been the fact that the market has basically snubbed the company's earnings in favor of its closest peers, such as Biogen and Celgene :
Over the last year, the chart above shows that the market has been willing to pay more than double the amount for Biogen and Celgene's earnings, compared to Gilead's.
If this sounds irrational and looks like the market is "getting it wrong" when it comes to Gilead, I have some disappointing news for you.
Gilead's science is so good that it's actually destroying the company's business
Pharma companies, like most other businesses, make the bulk of their money through repeat business. Gilead, however, is doing something really no other drugmaker is doing -- namely curing patients of devastating infectious diseases.
.
The biotech's hepatitis C treatments are basically functional cures for over 90% of patients that take them. As a result, there is a real chance the market for these drugs could crater within the next five to 10 years, especially in Western countries, where background levels of hep C infections have been declining ever since blood screening procedures were implemented in the 1990s.
Making matters worse, Gilead is rapidly developing a new combo pill that could cut the average treatment duration in half. That's great news for patients and doctors battling the disease, but it also means that roughly half of Gilead's hep C revenues could evaporate in the not-so-distant future.
Now Gilead is going after a functional cure for HIV. According to a recent investor presentation, the company has initiated a small safety and proof-of-concept trial for GS-9620 as part of a so-called "Shock and Kill" viral eradication strategy for patients infected with HIV.
Similar approaches have so far been only partially effective, because these experimental drugs haven't been able to activate all HIV-carrying cells at one time. But Gilead's GS-9620 is an extremely potent immune activator, shown by its clinical trials as a potential treatment for hepatitis B.
In short, Gilead could be eating into a huge chunk of its core business within the next three years by curing HIV. Again, that would be amazing news for HIV patients, but it helps to show why the market doesn't value Gilead's earnings as highly as its peers.
What's next?
My take is that Gilead is starting to transition away from infectious diseases to focus on oncology. The company's recent acquisition of privately held EpiTherapeutics for its preclinical cancer drug candidates and its rapidly growing clinical program for various cancers look like tell-tell signs that Gilead is, in fact, becoming an oncology company.
Looking ahead, I believe Gilead will use its growing cash base of over of $14 billion to significantly bolster its footprint in cancer care. Such a move would force the market to reevaluate its outlook toward the biotech, and would therefore be a tremendous value-creating event for shareholders. Stay tuned!
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The article Is Gilead Sciences Its Own Worst Enemy? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | The company's single-table regimen drugs for HIV, for example, have come to dominate the market in both the U.S. and EU: On the hepatitis C front, Gilead estimates that it presently controls around 90% of the market with Sovaldi and Harvoni, crushing its closest competitors from AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. The company's share price has nevertheless lagged behind the biotech sector in general: The most confusing aspect about the performance of Gilead's share price, though, has been the fact that the market has basically snubbed the company's earnings in favor of its closest peers, such as Biogen and Celgene : Over the last year, the chart above shows that the market has been willing to pay more than double the amount for Biogen and Celgene's earnings, compared to Gilead's. | The company's single-table regimen drugs for HIV, for example, have come to dominate the market in both the U.S. and EU: On the hepatitis C front, Gilead estimates that it presently controls around 90% of the market with Sovaldi and Harvoni, crushing its closest competitors from AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. The biotech's hepatitis C treatments are basically functional cures for over 90% of patients that take them. | The company's single-table regimen drugs for HIV, for example, have come to dominate the market in both the U.S. and EU: On the hepatitis C front, Gilead estimates that it presently controls around 90% of the market with Sovaldi and Harvoni, crushing its closest competitors from AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. Because of the stunning success of Gilead's latest infectious disease medicines, the biotech's operating cash flows have flown higher in the past 12 months: Gilead has therefore been able to reward shareholders via a massive $15 billion share buyback program, and through a quarterly dividend payment that is set to start being doled out in the second quarter of this year. | The company's single-table regimen drugs for HIV, for example, have come to dominate the market in both the U.S. and EU: On the hepatitis C front, Gilead estimates that it presently controls around 90% of the market with Sovaldi and Harvoni, crushing its closest competitors from AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb . George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. Gilead Sciences is a top dog when it comes to developing treatments for infectious diseases. |
26946.0 | 2015-05-16 00:00:00 UTC | US IPO Weekly Recap: With 6 IPOs, the year's largest company goes public | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/us-ipo-weekly-recap-6-ipos-years-largest-company-goes-public-2015-05-16 | nan | nan | Six companies went public in the past week, raising $1.4 billion. Half traded up 10% or more, and half had negative or no return.
For the second week in a row, the general partner of a midstream natural gas pipelines MLP priced an upsized IPO above its range to become the year's largest company to go public by market cap. We also saw the year's largest biotech IPO by proceeds and market cap. 63 IPOs have raised $11 billion year-to-date, compared to the 109 IPOs that had raised $21 billion by this point last year.
The S&P 500 reached an all-time high this week while the VIX volatility index remains comfortably below 15, signaling an open window for IPOs. However, the divergent returns of the two yield IPOs and various biotechs suggests that IPO investors remain discerning. The number of initial filings shot up to 11 this week - the highest in months - including 7 early-stage health care companies. Five companies, none of which are biotechs, are on the IPO calendar for next week.
Howdy partner: EQT GP up 20%
EQT GP Holdings LP ( EQGP ) surpassed last week's Tallgrass Energy GP (TEGP) to become the largest newly-public company of 2015 with a market cap of $7.2 billion. EQT GP's underlying pipeline MLP, EQT Midstream (EQM), trades at nearly four times its June 2012 IPO price. While investors generally remain cautious about the energy sector, IPOs like EQT GP and Tallgrass GP show that companies with well known backers, the stability of long-term contracts and a track record for growing distributions can outperform. EQT GP's low float of 8.6% of total diluted shares may also have boosted demand.
Fortress cracks: Air, land and sea IPO now yields nearly 8%
Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (FTAI) had been on file for over one year but the LLC priced its IPO below the range and fell 3%. Formed by PE firm Fortress Investment Group ( FIG ), the company owns a portfolio of marine, air and land transportation and infrastructure assets with relatively low leverage. Its stock now yields almost 8%, but investors may have been wary of commodities exposure and the execution risk associated with some of its newer assets.
Roll up Fenix rises up (13%) out of the ashes
Fenix Parts (FENX) priced 20% below its midpoint, which was enough to make IPO investors bid the stock up 13% by Friday. Much larger peer LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQ, $8.5 billion market cap) offers investors a proven model of the recycled auto parts business. The most recent roll-up IPOs have been disappointing, and include April 2015 REIT National Storage (NSA; +2%) and November 2014 software provider Upland (UPLD; -38%).
Its survival of the fittest biotechs with Galapagos
Galapagos (GLPG) raised $275 million, beating last year's Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) as the largest initial US offering of a biotech in at least 15 years. It went public with a market cap of $1.7 billion, the largest for a biotech this year. Though its stock had been publicly traded in Europe, Galapagos' shares gained 20% after they began trading on the NASDAQ. The biotech boasts a large pipeline of drug candidates backing from both Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ).
Buy a brand new Jaguar - dog diarrhea biotech leaves pipeline at last
Jaguar Animal Health (JAGX) came back this week at a 25% lower valuation than it proposed in November 2014. Founded in 2013 but nearly 25 years in the making , the company broke issue on its first day but ended the week up $0.01 from the offer price.
Sowing the (genetically modified) seeds of a public company. Cropportunity awaits?
Arcadia Biosciences (RKDA) priced 43% below its midpoint and fell 9%. The company has assembled a sizable portfolio of genetic crop productivity traits, and even modest incremental crop yields in wheat or soybeans could be a huge boon. However, competition in the area is intense, and commercialization could remain years out.
3 delayed biotechs officially postpone - topical Botox, weight loss pill and gene therapy
Three biotechs had been attempting to price for two weeks but officially postponed this week. These include weight loss pill maker Gelesis (GLSS), gene therapy biotech MultiVir (MVIR) and topical botulinum toxin maker Anterios (ANTE).
16 of the 28 companies that have postponed or withdrawn IPOs this year due to market conditions, or 57%, are health care focused. The health care sector also makes up 48% of all IPOs to date.
Find out why institutional investors rely on Renaissance Capital's Pre-IPO Research for these IPOs.
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IPO market snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Index, a market cap weighted basket of newly public companies that is designed to represent the US IPO market, has traded up 8% year-to-date, compared to 3% for the S&P 500. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF ( IPO ) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Alibaba (BABA), Twitter ( TWTR ), Hilton (HLT), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Voya Financial (VOYA). To find out if this is the best ETF for you, visit our IPO investing page. The article US IPO Weekly Recap: With 6 IPOs, the year's largest company goes public originally appeared on IPO investment manager Renaissance Capital's web site renaissancecapital.com.
Investment Disclosure: The information and opinions expressed herein were prepared by Renaissance Capital's research analysts and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any security. Renaissance Capital, the Renaissance IPO ETF (symbol: IPO) or the Global IPO Fund (symbol: IPOSX) , may have investments in securities of companies mentioned.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | The biotech boasts a large pipeline of drug candidates backing from both Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ). For the second week in a row, the general partner of a midstream natural gas pipelines MLP priced an upsized IPO above its range to become the year's largest company to go public by market cap. Formed by PE firm Fortress Investment Group ( FIG ), the company owns a portfolio of marine, air and land transportation and infrastructure assets with relatively low leverage. | The biotech boasts a large pipeline of drug candidates backing from both Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ). Much larger peer LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQ, $8.5 billion market cap) offers investors a proven model of the recycled auto parts business. 3 delayed biotechs officially postpone - topical Botox, weight loss pill and gene therapy Three biotechs had been attempting to price for two weeks but officially postponed this week. | The biotech boasts a large pipeline of drug candidates backing from both Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ). IPO market snapshot The Renaissance IPO Index, a market cap weighted basket of newly public companies that is designed to represent the US IPO market, has traded up 8% year-to-date, compared to 3% for the S&P 500. The article US IPO Weekly Recap: With 6 IPOs, the year's largest company goes public originally appeared on IPO investment manager Renaissance Capital's web site renaissancecapital.com. | The biotech boasts a large pipeline of drug candidates backing from both Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ). We also saw the year's largest biotech IPO by proceeds and market cap. It went public with a market cap of $1.7 billion, the largest for a biotech this year. |
26947.0 | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC | Notable ETF Outflow Detected - SSO, ABT, ABBV, ACN | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/notable-etf-outflow-detected-sso-abt-abbv-acn-2015-05-13 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $86.8 million dollar outflow -- that's a 4.5% decrease week over week (from 14,475,000 to 13,825,000). Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.4%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.50. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.4%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.6%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $86.8 million dollar outflow -- that's a 4.5% decrease week over week (from 14,475,000 to 13,825,000). These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.4%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.50. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.4%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.6%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $86.8 million dollar outflow -- that's a 4.5% decrease week over week (from 14,475,000 to 13,825,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.50. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.4%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.50. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). |
26948.0 | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC | 5 Largest Markets for Pharmaceuticals | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/5-largest-markets-pharmaceuticals-2015-05-12 | nan | nan | Source: Flickr, Creative Commons.
If you're a biotech or Big Pharma company, your world is not only growing, it's standing on its head. According to the Institute for Healthcare Informatics, worldwide spending for prescription branded drugs and generic medicines will jump 30% from 2013-2018 -- a compound annual growth rate of over 5% -- leading to a jaw-dropping $1.3 trillion in annual global drug sales.
The market is also radically shifting position, with traditional strongholds, such as Japan and Europe, flipping over, and emerging markets, such as China, becoming the head. The result is that healthcare investors need a new strategy; they need a way to keep an eye on emerging markets so they aren't left in the lurch because they don't understand the true engines for growth in their holdings.
Here's a country-by-country look at what's really happening with global pharmaceuticals, focusing on the five largest markets for pharmaceuticals, based on sales, in 2013. .
No. 5: France: total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $37.2 billion France has historically been a strong market for brand name drugs. In general, the culture highly values treatment with expensive medications, as seen by the fact that more than 90% of doctor visits in France end with prescriptions, a much higher rate than other countries.
France's market growth has plateaued however, due to restrictions on retail pharmacy margins and regulation of drug prices. IMS World Review Analyst reports that the French market for pharmaceuticals only grew 1% from 2012 to 2013, down from 4% the previous year. For the record, even at 1%, France is one of the few remaining European markets that is not declining. If you look at the breakdown the European Union as a whole, "growth" is -1%.
The shrinking of the EU market is a serious problem for Big Pharma. Not only is the EU an easy market to reach and understand, but Big Pharma's most innovative drugs, particularly pricey biologics, are skewed toward populations who can afford them, such as you find in many EU countries. For instance, expenditures on targeted oncology drugs increased exponentially in Europe over the past decade, making the EU now responsible for 40% of the overall market for these drugs. By contrast, emerging countries like China prioritize much less expensive drugs for public health diseases.
No. 4: Germany, total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $45.8 billion
Germany is the leading pharmaceutical market in Europe, but its growth has also slowed to a crawl. The German drug sector is expected to expand at a modest 1.7% rate from 2015 to 2020, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.
While Germany was once considered a "free price" market, that came to an end in 2011. A reform measure known as AMNOG took effect that year. AMNOG requires that pharma companies prove added benefits of their new products, or face very low reimbursement rates.
AMNOG also excludes some new drugs entirely. For instance, Gilead Sciences ' blockbuster idelalisib, known also as Zydelig, is approved in the U.S., but Germany's tougher regulators insisted "added benefit of idelalisib is not proven." In addition, some pharmaceutical companies are opting voluntarily not to provide their new products to Germany, in the face of needing to prove not just that a drug is effective but that it improves standard of care.
No. 3: China, total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $86.8 billion
China accounts for 20% of the world's population. Assuming the country's goal of universal coverage for its 1.35 billion citizens by 2020 stays on track, China should make up 34% of the global growth in medication spending over the next five years. In fact, many believe China is destined to become the world's biggest pharmaceutical market.
Yet for all the excitement, cracking China has proven far more complicated than expected for drugmakers.
Bulldozing in with U.S.-approved drugs and expecting a red carpet has been a ticket to nowhere. China's regulatory environment is byzantine, its regions are highly diverse, and the country's poor intellectual property protection has wreaked havoc.
Adding to the pressure is the current recession. In fact, while sales in China for the eight largest drugmakers in the market, including Pfizer , Merck & Co. , and GlaxoSmithKline , climbed 40% in 2011, that growth dwindled to 20% in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
China is still the biggest game in town, however. And with billions of dollars behind their efforts, Big Pharma is making unusual alliances. Pfizer produces and markets more than 40 innovative drugs in China, with manufacturing facilities in Dalian, Suzhou, and Wuxi. It also has a stake in one of China's top drug distributors, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals , as well as a joint venture to develop generic drugs with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals.
One of the biggest opportunities in China is the diabetes market. According to IMS Health, China's diabetes market is expected to grow 20% to reach $3.2 billion by 2016. Johnson & Johnson is hoping its first diabetes drug, Invokana, will find success in China. As the diabetes market gets ever more crowded in the U.S., Merck's blockbuster Januvia is losing sales, but it may get a break in China, where Merck employs over 2,000 people. Other top U.S.-based drug companies with stakes in China include AbbVie Inc ., Abbott Laboratories , Amgen , and Eli Lilly & Co . Many have joint ventures in China, as well as manufacturing facilities.
No. 2: Japan, total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $94 billion
Driven by the needs of a rapidly aging population, the world's third-largest economy is the world's second-largest drug market. Highly efficient drug reviews facilitate the rapid entry of new products into Japan, as seen by the country's rapid approval of Opdivo from Bristol-Myers Squibb , prior to its approval in the U.S.
Unfortunately, Japan's drug market has been declining rapidly as the economy struggles with stagnation, made worse by the triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear leak) of 2011. The good news for Japan is that innovation in large-scale drug development is picking up.
Traditionally, Japanese drug companies keep research in-house, but that has been changing recently. Takeda Pharmaceutical , Japan's largest pharmaceutical company, is set to increase its global footprint with the announcement of incoming CEO Christopher Weber, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive. Weber will become Takeda's CEO in June, which will make him the company's first foreign CEO. Appointing a foreigner to Takeda's top job is an indication in itself that Takeda is looking to international markets.
No. 1: U.S., total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $339.7 billion
The annual amount spent per-person on prescription drugs in the U.S. averages $1,000 -- more than twice as much as in countries like Canada, Germany, and Australia.
While the Affordable Care Act contains measures to control healthcare costs, it turns out that Americans not only spend more per drug, we also take more drugs. Disease rates are higher because of lifestyle risks such as obesity, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accordingly, rates of heart disease, COPD, and diabetes are higher in the U.S. than in most developed countries.
Branded drugs take by far the biggest bite out of the healthcare drug budget, but a recent WSJ article pointed out that the price of a variety of generics -- whether from coincidence or collusion -- has also been sky-rocketing. It's estimated that half of all small-molecule generics sold through retailers have become more expensive in the past 12 months. In some cases, price hikes exceeded 1,000%, and some even topped 17,000%.
Investor takeaway
Knowing that China's pharmaceutical market is full of pitfalls as well as opportunities doesn't lead directly to finding a great stock pick. Nor does learning about Germany's pricing crackdown pave the way to big investment gains.
But smart investors do their homework. They lay a foundation of basic knowledge before they invest. That can be hard, slow, unglamorous work. But it leads to better investing, based on having realistic expectations for a company's growth in today's unique -- and uniquely challenging -- global marketplace.
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The article 5 Largest Markets for Pharmaceuticals originally appeared on Fool.com.
Cheryl Swanson has a position in Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Other top U.S.-based drug companies with stakes in China include AbbVie Inc ., Abbott Laboratories , Amgen , and Eli Lilly & Co . In general, the culture highly values treatment with expensive medications, as seen by the fact that more than 90% of doctor visits in France end with prescriptions, a much higher rate than other countries. In addition, some pharmaceutical companies are opting voluntarily not to provide their new products to Germany, in the face of needing to prove not just that a drug is effective but that it improves standard of care. | Other top U.S.-based drug companies with stakes in China include AbbVie Inc ., Abbott Laboratories , Amgen , and Eli Lilly & Co . 4: Germany, total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $45.8 billion Germany is the leading pharmaceutical market in Europe, but its growth has also slowed to a crawl. In fact, while sales in China for the eight largest drugmakers in the market, including Pfizer , Merck & Co. , and GlaxoSmithKline , climbed 40% in 2011, that growth dwindled to 20% in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. | Other top U.S.-based drug companies with stakes in China include AbbVie Inc ., Abbott Laboratories , Amgen , and Eli Lilly & Co . 4: Germany, total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $45.8 billion Germany is the leading pharmaceutical market in Europe, but its growth has also slowed to a crawl. It also has a stake in one of China's top drug distributors, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals , as well as a joint venture to develop generic drugs with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals. | Other top U.S.-based drug companies with stakes in China include AbbVie Inc ., Abbott Laboratories , Amgen , and Eli Lilly & Co . 4: Germany, total pharmaceutical sales in 2013: $45.8 billion Germany is the leading pharmaceutical market in Europe, but its growth has also slowed to a crawl. One of the biggest opportunities in China is the diabetes market. |
26949.0 | 2015-05-12 00:00:00 UTC | Six Stocks Owned by Billionaire Investors with Huge Upside Potential | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/six-stocks-owned-billionaire-investors-huge-upside-potential-2015-05-12 | nan | nan | Last week a roster of the best and most influential investors in the world gave us a glimpse into their minds and their portfolios. Once a year, the heavy weights of the investing world converge on Lincoln Center in the Upper West side of New York City to give their money, their time and some of their best investment ideas, to raise money for pediatric cancer. The Sohn Investment Conference has raised more than $50 million since 1995. And it’s become an event that moves markets.
That was Monday. Later in the week, many of the same billionaire investors made their way West to Las Vegas for the seventh annual SALT Conference. The SALT Conference has become the Super Bowl week of the alternative investment world, headlined by virtually every big influential investor and many heavyweight politicos, including former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke.
Why do we care what these billionaire investors have to say?
Because they have the power to influence outcomes, which means their best ideas tend to be very profitable ideas. And with that, it tends to be quite lucrative to follow the lead of these investors. In fact, over the past year, three of the top billionaire investors in the world have said as much -- either explicitly or implicitly telling us that investing alongside them is a good idea.
In August of last year, billionaire Bill Ackman said in his quarterly investor letter that “free riders” can follow him “with none of the costs or the illiquidity, and with all of the upside.”
That same month, billionaire Carl Icahn wrote a public essay, where he laid out the power of his “board effect” and how average investors could use it to their advantage. He said “if a person invested in each company on the date that the (Icahn) designee joined the Board and sold on the date that the Icahn designee left the Board they would have obtained an annualized return of 27%. “
Finally, this past week, billionaire Dan Loeb joined in, making the case for the value big influential investors offer to the average investor, saying they can “help power the powerless.”
At BillionairesPortfolio.com, following the best ideas from the world’s best billionaire investors is what we do. With that said, below are what we believe to be the five “best ideas” we heard last week from the world’s best billionaire investors:
1) Billionaire hedge fund manager Larry Robbins has returned 20% annualized (before fees) since 2000 vs. a 4.5% return for the S&P 500 during the same time period. Robbins talked up two stocks that he believes can double: Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) and Abbvie (ABBV). BKD is a play on the aging population of America. Robbins said “demographics are easier than macroeconomics, and the easiest thing to bet on is an aging population.” Brookdale is the largest nursing home company in the country. It owns the majority of its own real estate, or about $28 a share worth, according to Robbins. This means you are getting Brookdale’s business for just $7 a share. The other stock Robbins floated a potential double was Abbvie (ABBV). He said Abbvie is “trading relatively cheap” with a drug pipeline that is underappreciated and it’s difficult for competitors to make generic versions.
2) Billionaires Dan Loeb and Carl Icahn protégé, Keith Meister admitted to owning a combined $2.5 billion worth of YUM Brands (YUM). Loeb likes Yum as a cheap play on China, and Meister likes Yum as an activist play. He believes if Yum spins off its Chinese operations, the stock could be worth as much as $160 a share, or a 75% return from its share price today. Meister also said this was the biggest position his fund has ever taken in a stock.
3) Billionaire Barry Rosenstein of the $12 billion activist hedge fund Jana Partners said that it had taken a $2 billion stake in Qualcomm (QCOM). Rosenstein went further to say this was the biggest position his fund had ever taken. Rosenstein believes Qualcomm is undervalued and that the company needs to ramp up its stock buyback program as well as split off its chipset unit, either of which could drive the stock price dramatically higher.
4) Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper, who has returned around 40% before fees over the past 20 years, was very bullish on stocks, in general. Tepper said it’s hard enough to fight one Fed (the U.S. Federal Reserve) but to fight 4 Feds/central banks is impossible. Tepper believes the S&P 500 can return 15% this year. Tepper’s biggest position in his hedge fund is General Motors (GM). Tepper owns a billion dollars plus of GM and has successfully pushed for GM to buy back more than $10 billion of its own stock.
5) Noticeably absent at the two high profile investor conferences last week was billionaire Carl Icahn, arguably the best investor alive. Icahn could, however, be preparing to shock the investing world this week, on his own time. Icahn tweeted on April 28, that Apple (AAPL) is “still undervalued” and that we should expect another in-depth report from him on Apple “within two weeks.” Remember Icahn has said Apple is worth as much as $216 a share or a 76% return from its share price today.
BillionairesPortfolio.com helps average investors invest alongside Wall Street billionaires. By selecting the best ideas from the best billionaire investors and hedge funds, our exited stock investment recommendations have averaged a 31% gain since 2012, beating even Carl Icahn’s record for the same period.
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Five Stocks With Triple-Digit Potential If Boone Pickens Is Right About $80 Oil
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Robbins talked up two stocks that he believes can double: Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) and Abbvie (ABBV). The other stock Robbins floated a potential double was Abbvie (ABBV). He said Abbvie is “trading relatively cheap” with a drug pipeline that is underappreciated and it’s difficult for competitors to make generic versions. | Robbins talked up two stocks that he believes can double: Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) and Abbvie (ABBV). The other stock Robbins floated a potential double was Abbvie (ABBV). He said Abbvie is “trading relatively cheap” with a drug pipeline that is underappreciated and it’s difficult for competitors to make generic versions. | Robbins talked up two stocks that he believes can double: Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) and Abbvie (ABBV). The other stock Robbins floated a potential double was Abbvie (ABBV). He said Abbvie is “trading relatively cheap” with a drug pipeline that is underappreciated and it’s difficult for competitors to make generic versions. | Robbins talked up two stocks that he believes can double: Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) and Abbvie (ABBV). The other stock Robbins floated a potential double was Abbvie (ABBV). He said Abbvie is “trading relatively cheap” with a drug pipeline that is underappreciated and it’s difficult for competitors to make generic versions. |
26950.0 | 2015-05-10 00:00:00 UTC | Week ahead: 9 IPOs planned for the week of May 11 | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/week-ahead-9-ipos-planned-week-may-11-2015-05-10 | nan | nan | Nine IPOs are scheduled to raise $1.4 billion this week .
The IPO market could see the year's largest company and the year's largest biotech by market cap begin trading in the US. Two yield plays account for two-thirds of expected proceeds. Six of the nine are development-stage health care and genetics companies, four of which had delayed their IPOs.
Last week, just 8 of 14 IPOs managed to price and just one gained more than 10% on its first day. Expect similar pushback this week. Voters in our IPO Poll are not enthusiastic.
Incentives for sale: EQT GP set to be year's largest company to IPO
EQT GP Holdings LP (EQGP) offers investors a levered play on natural gas pipeline MLP EQT Midstream's ( EQM ) rising distributions through the GP's equity interests and incentive distribution rights. The underlying MLP has gained 300% since its June 2012 IPO. Signaling investor demand, Tallgrass Energy GP LP (TEGP) became the year's largest IPO by deal size and market cap after it priced above the range, then traded up 9%. EQT GP will have a relatively low float; the offered shares represent just 7.5% of its market cap.
Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (FTAI) is set to raise $400 million. Formed by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group ( FIG ), FTAI owns a portfolio of aviation, rail and marine transportation and logistics assets. The company pitches itself as being able to respond to market conditions by shifting resources while closing on acquisitions at attractive prices. It offers an initial yield of more than 6%.
Year's largest biotech to offer shares in the US
Galapagos (GLPG), which trades in Europe under the ticker GLPG, plans to raise about $200 million by listing in the US. Primary shareholder Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ) plan to invest $55 million on the offering of the inflammatory disease biotech. Its stock has gained over 130% year-to-date and is up 50% since it first filed to list in the US. Its market cap of $1.6 billion surpasses March IPO Cellectis (CLLS; -24%), which was also listed in Europe and traded up significantly prior to the US offering.
Fenix Parts (FENX), a recently formed rollup of auto parts manufacturers, plans to raise $110 million, representing 66% of its market cap. Much larger peer LKQ ( LKQ ) sold off in late February but the stock recovered two weeks ago.
Four delayed biotechs - topical Botox, weight loss pill, gene therapy, dog diarrhea
Biotechs without big-name backers have had difficulty getting done as investor sentiment for the sector cools. Three biotechs that had originally been set to price last week will make a second attempt this week, though none have chosen a date. Of note, last week's two worst performers, OpGen (OPGN) and CoLucid Pharmaceuticals (CLCD), had originally been on the calendar for the prior week and priced well below the range.
Weight loss pill maker Gelesis (GLSS) plans to raise $52 million; insiders intend to invest up to 34% of the deal. Led by former Introgen executives, MultiVir (MVIR) is developing gene therapies it acquired from now-bankrupt Introgen; its backer plans to buy up to 33% of the proposed $60 million deal. Topical botulinum toxin maker Anterios (ANTE), which did not disclose insider buying, targets a large but competitive market.
Jaguar Animal Health (JAGX) originally planned to raise $40 million at a 34% higher valuation in November 2014, but the pet diarrhea biotech dropped out. It could be bookrunner Aegis Capital's first IPO of 2015.
Find out why institutional investors rely on Renaissance Capital's Pre-IPO Research for these IPOs.
Follow us on Twitter ( @IPOtweet ) for IPO news as it happens and register for our updates on the IPO market.
IPO pipeline update: Fitbit files
Fitbit (FIT) joined the IPO pipeline last week when it filed for an IPO that we estimate could raise $400 million or more. While the consumer sector has seen less activity this year, chicken wing restaurant chain Wingstop (WING) also filed to raise $86 million. Two technology IPOs - e-commerce platform Shopify (SHOP) and Chinese e-commerce outsourcer Baozun (BZUN) - joined the IPO calendar for next week while Evolent Health's (EVH) initial filing suggests that the tech sector may be picking up. TerraForm Global (TERG.RC) was last week's largest filer with a $700 million deal size; the SunEdison (SUNE) yieldco owns solar and wind power assets in emerging markets and follows the successful 2014 IPO of US-focused TerraForm Power (TERP).
IPO market snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Index, a market cap weighted basket of newly public companies that is designed to represent the US IPO market, has traded up 6% year-to-date, compared to 3% for the S&P 500. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Alibaba (BABA), Twitter ( TWTR ), Hilton (HLT), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Voya Financial (VOYA). To find out if this is the best ETF for you, visit our IPO investing page. The article Week ahead: 9 IPOs planned for the week of May 11 originally appeared on IPO investment manager Renaissance Capital's web site renaissancecapital.com.
Investment Disclosure: The information and opinions expressed herein were prepared by Renaissance Capital's research analysts and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any security. Renaissance Capital, the Renaissance IPO ETF (symbol: IPO) or the Global IPO Fund (symbol: IPOSX) , may have investments in securities of companies mentioned.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Primary shareholder Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ) plan to invest $55 million on the offering of the inflammatory disease biotech. Signaling investor demand, Tallgrass Energy GP LP (TEGP) became the year's largest IPO by deal size and market cap after it priced above the range, then traded up 9%. Formed by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group ( FIG ), FTAI owns a portfolio of aviation, rail and marine transportation and logistics assets. | Primary shareholder Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ) plan to invest $55 million on the offering of the inflammatory disease biotech. Incentives for sale: EQT GP set to be year's largest company to IPO EQT GP Holdings LP (EQGP) offers investors a levered play on natural gas pipeline MLP EQT Midstream's ( EQM ) rising distributions through the GP's equity interests and incentive distribution rights. Four delayed biotechs - topical Botox, weight loss pill, gene therapy, dog diarrhea Biotechs without big-name backers have had difficulty getting done as investor sentiment for the sector cools. | Primary shareholder Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ) plan to invest $55 million on the offering of the inflammatory disease biotech. IPO pipeline update: Fitbit files Fitbit (FIT) joined the IPO pipeline last week when it filed for an IPO that we estimate could raise $400 million or more. IPO market snapshot The Renaissance IPO Index, a market cap weighted basket of newly public companies that is designed to represent the US IPO market, has traded up 6% year-to-date, compared to 3% for the S&P 500. | Primary shareholder Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and AbbVie ( ABBV ) plan to invest $55 million on the offering of the inflammatory disease biotech. Its stock has gained over 130% year-to-date and is up 50% since it first filed to list in the US. IPO pipeline update: Fitbit files Fitbit (FIT) joined the IPO pipeline last week when it filed for an IPO that we estimate could raise $400 million or more. |
26951.0 | 2015-05-10 00:00:00 UTC | Investors Just Doubled Their Money on This Stock | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/investors-just-doubled-their-money-stock-2015-05-10 | nan | nan | With biotech research on the rise, Alexion Pharmaceuticals sure seems to have the market covered. The rarest of diseases are being treated with some of the most expensive, and most effective drugs on the market.
As Alexion has purchased Synageva with a price tag of $8.4 billion, some investors might think this is a great buy. But with $0 in sales for upcoming miracle drugs, not everyone is convinced the cost of the deal was worth it. Join Michael Douglass and Todd Campbell in today's Healthcare edition of Industry Focus to see how they think it will all pan out.
A full transcript follows the video.
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Michael Douglass: How investors just doubled their money in this stock. This is Industry Focus.
Hi, Fools! Healthcare analyst Michael Douglass here for the health care edition of Industry Focus. Today is Wednesday, May 6 th and I have on the phone with me Todd Campbell from New Hampshire.
Todd, how's it going?
Todd Campbell: Everything's in bloom up here in New Hampshire which means we're full-fledged into allergy season.
Douglass: Which means that things are getting hot and humid down here in Virginia. Thanks for rubbing it in though. So, it goes.
All right. Interesting news in the market today, actually. Alexion Pharmaceuticals -- that's ticker ALXN -- reported today that it had agreed to buy Synageva BioPharma Corp or $8.4 billion, which was about twice what Synageva's market cap had been the day before. Which is really an incredible premium as you can imagine.
A nice windfall, so congratulations to any Synageva BioPharma investors out there. You seem to have picked quite the winner. What I wanted to do today was talk through the deal a little bit, and then let's talk about rare diseases, buyouts and how to think about this kind of thing in health care.
I think first off, the most important thing for any investor to know is, here at The Motley Fool -- and I would say certainly for me, personally, when I'm investing -- and Todd, you can speak to your experience -- but really discourage people from buying a company because they think it's going to get bought out because all to often that doesn't happen.
Shire plc last year -- that's ticker SHPG, I believe -- AbbVie had indicated it was going to buy up Shire, Shire soared enormously on the news, and then AbbVie ended up backing out of the deal when tax inversions were made more difficult by the U.S. federal government and Shire lost 20% in a single day.
So, I think the first -- the key thing, even though we're talking about a buyout and what a great thing it was for Synageva BioPharma shareholders -- one of the key things to remember is that you really shouldn't buy a stock based on the fact that you think it could get bought out. Look at the underlying business.
Hopefully that means that somebody else wants it because you're willing to put your money into it, and hopefully other companies will want to as well. But it's important to pay attention to those underlying business operations and to use that as the crux of you investment thesis.
Campbell: Yeah. Merger-mania is not a good strategy. You absolutely don't want to just blindly go out and buy any bio-tech that you could come across thinking "Wow! There's 100% premium deal coming down the road." It just doesn't work that way.
In this case the acquisition, there were some real reasons that it was attractive to Alexion and I think, sure, maybe we can draw some broad brush stroke conclusions at what that might mean for some other, ultra-rare disease players in the space, but like you said, always better to start with "Are there drugs currently approved by this company on the market? How much are they generating in sales? Are those sales growing?"
Douglass: Right.
Campbell: What does the balance sheet look like? What's coming in the pipeline? What are they working on that's going to fuel growth going forward? Those are the three things that biotech investors really need to be focused on. If people that thought that biotechnology stocks were overvalued heading into today, then they really think they're overvalued now.
This deal -- $8.4 billion for a company with $0 in sales.
Douglass: Yeah. As often happens with biotech buyouts, there's immediate-- a lot of commentary from folks saying "Well, is that really a fair price for the company?" I've got to say, personally, it's hard to say right now because so much has been done in that pipeline. But the fact of the matter is that Alexion has been a really, really good at one thing.
That one thing is Soliris. What they've just done with this drug is expanded it in rare disease after rare disease, after rare disease. It's got a price tag of over half a million dollars a year for patients. It's just for these ultra-rare diseases. You don't really see insurers complain too much about the cost because they've only got a handful of people who have whatever disease it is that Soliris is treating in whatever individual case.
Synageva works in that same space. So, it makes sense for Alexion whether or not the price tag makes sense again. We'll know further on, but it's definitely consistent with our current strategy.
Campbell: Yeah. I don't think any company in biotech has done a better job, if you will, of discovering, or increasing the patient populations that their drug can treat. You look at what they've done with Soliris and it's really amazing. They've taken a drug that at one point they thought "Well, maybe this will treat 1,000 people or less." Now they're generating -- I think they're on pace now to do $2.4 billion in sales from that one drug alone.
That's come from expanding the label to other indications, but it's also come from discovering more patients that are afflicted with these conditions. I think that's one of the reasons they're so interested in buying Synageva, because they're looking at Synageva's most advanced product, which is Kanuma. That's in front of the FDA and the EU regulators for approval.
Those approvals theoretically should come this year. I think the FDA one's expected in September. The thing that Synageva's been saying over and over again is "This is an underdiagnosed condition." Basically what it is -- what this drug treats -- is very rare enzyme deficiency. So, this is an enzyme replacement therapy. This is an inherited disease, there's no --it's called LAL D -- there's no approved therapies for it and what they're thinking is "If we can get this approval, and we've just bought this company, and we already know how to expand patient populations thanks to our experience with Soliris. I but we can get sales of this to go even higher than people are expecting."
Some people think the disease, LAL D, is responsible for things like fatty liver disease that can actually cause liver failure, etcetera. A lot of people think that people who are diagnosed with ultrahigh levels of cholesterol may be being misdiagnosed. They're actually suffering from LAL D. So, there's a lot of ways theoretically they could expand and get some extra value out of this.
That being said, by Synageva's own admission, they're targeting-- they pulled out and said "Look at all the other enzyme replacement therapies that are out there." They typically do in the $300 million to $600 million a year range. So, if we assume that's going to be the case with this drug -- assumptions are always a little shaky -- then you're still talking about a pretty remarkable valuation that Alexion's paying.
Nonetheless they think it's worth it. They think that's going to be a credo to their earnings within three years. I think they said '2018'. So, they see the value in it. Time will tell whether or not that's true.
Douglass: Yeah. The 2018 number, I'm sure a lot of folks -- particularly if you're familiar with Valeant Pharmaceuticals that is usually try not to have earnings of creative deals very, very quickly. The 2018 number, I'm sure, seems kind of like a red flag. But to my mind, when you've got a drug that isn't yet on the market, and it's going to take a lot of marking build out, you're going to have to expand your sales force -- or at least cross train them -- that makes sense.
Campbell: Yeah. When Sanofi stepped up and bought Genzyme -- again, another company that made its notoriety from treating rare diseases. They also said it's going to take two or three years before this [...] of turning. I think that you're right. Where you're talking about a brand new drug that hasn't even hit the market yet, you have to expect that here's going to be some cost associated with getting that up to speed and that it will take a little bit of time.
The other thing is that they think they're going to be able to save about $150 million in overlapping, by cutting costs here and there from overlapping Synageva and all that fun stuff.
Douglass: Yeah. And frankly, you just look at this and you've got to think "Alexion" -- my suspicion, for what it's worth -- is that Alexion knows what it's doing here. Again, they've turned Soliris -- it has two indications -- and they've been able to turn it into a multibillion dollar drug. I personally wouldn't bet against them.
I know the market is today. I think they're down 10%, or something like that as of last time I checked. I would be very interested to watch. I think that September 2015 PDUFA date for Kanuma will definitely be a date for investors to circle on their calendars.
Campbell: I think the other thing investors should be keeping an eye on -- or paying attention to here -- is that these companies and these deals and the drugs that are coming up through there -- this is all really fascinating because you're talking about what's going on in health care overall. You've got ultra-rare diseases, very small populations, with huge price tags associated to them.
You've got BioMarin, who's another one in this space and they've got drugs that are selling for $450 thousand a year. This is going to be high priced, too. Orphan drugs are attractive and as a result they do deserve somewhat of a premium in the market. They get a little bit extra exclusivity, they get a faster review period, there are benefits, tax credits that they can take advantage of.
So, there's a lot of moving pieces that go into why they're paying as much as they are for this company versus what another biotech may pay for somebody else. I think that's something that investors ought to remember.
Douglass: Yeah, and the fact of the matter is, in a lot of the market -- I think particularly in financials, utilities, energy, industrials; you get a lot -- you can value companies pretty reasonably based on the growth curve.
What they're doing in terms of earnings, free cash load, perhaps what they've been doing for the last few years, what it looks like the next couple years. In health care, and I'd say in tech, it's just difficult, frankly. You just have so much uncertainty about what the future could hold, both to the upside, and to the downside.
But Alexion, definitely a generally good company, and one that I would be hesitant to bet against, as I've said. I think a point that you made, Todd, that I want to highlight again; rare diseases is a growing market. It's a big market. It's one that you've got a lot of folks pretty excited to get involved in.
Shire PLC, which I mentioned earlier in the show, also plays in rare diseases. You mentioned Sanofi's Genzyme unit, and you've got some other players as well. It's definitely an area where there's an opportunity to really serve a small niche of the population and also do very well by your shareholders at the same time.
Campbell: Yeah. EvaluatePharma did a study last year and they're saying that the compounded annual growth for orphan drugs is probably going to run around 11% a year through 2020. By 2020 that market will be worth about $176 billion. So, this is not small by any measure. That growth rate is definitely going to be faster than the typical prescription drug market. They'd double it.
Douglass: Yeah. That's -- yeah. Lots to think about. Definitely, one of the big growth areas in health care that, frankly, one of those big trends in health care that folks are going to want to watch over the next few years, along with diabetes -- here in the United States, of course -- the increase in health insurance, biosimilars; you've just got a number of really big drivers for health care over the next years and decades that we'll want to watch closely.
Todd, we could probably do a show on each of them. Maybe that's something for us to do as things settle down a bit in the summer. Something to think about. Todd, as always, thanks for your time and your commentary here. It's always greatly appreciated by me, and I' sure by our listeners.
Folks, as always, if you have any questions, or something on your mind, shoot us an email. HC@fool.com . That's "H-C -- health care -- @fool.com", we'll be happy to feature your question on the show, talk about it.
I love getting mail. We're happy to do anything --ask us a question and we will do our level best to answer. As always, one of the things we're all about here at The Motley Fool is making sure that everyone is empowered, and that everyone does their own due diligence. Never, ever, ever buy or sell a stock based on just what you hear on the radio, or in a podcast.
Always do your own due diligence. Of course, the companies that we mention -- either Todd, or I could own them, or have options on them, as well The Motley Fool could have an active recommendation, or could own shares.
With that said, folks, thank you for listening to Industry Focus today. We'll look forward to seeing you on Friday. Until then, check back at Fool.com for all your investment needs, and Fool on!
The article Investors Just Doubled Their Money on This Stock originally appeared on Fool.com.
Michael Douglass has no position in any stocks mentioned. Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool owns shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Shire plc last year -- that's ticker SHPG, I believe -- AbbVie had indicated it was going to buy up Shire, Shire soared enormously on the news, and then AbbVie ended up backing out of the deal when tax inversions were made more difficult by the U.S. federal government and Shire lost 20% in a single day. In this case the acquisition, there were some real reasons that it was attractive to Alexion and I think, sure, maybe we can draw some broad brush stroke conclusions at what that might mean for some other, ultra-rare disease players in the space, but like you said, always better to start with "Are there drugs currently approved by this company on the market? But to my mind, when you've got a drug that isn't yet on the market, and it's going to take a lot of marking build out, you're going to have to expand your sales force -- or at least cross train them -- that makes sense. | Shire plc last year -- that's ticker SHPG, I believe -- AbbVie had indicated it was going to buy up Shire, Shire soared enormously on the news, and then AbbVie ended up backing out of the deal when tax inversions were made more difficult by the U.S. federal government and Shire lost 20% in a single day. Join Michael Douglass and Todd Campbell in today's Healthcare edition of Industry Focus to see how they think it will all pan out. What I wanted to do today was talk through the deal a little bit, and then let's talk about rare diseases, buyouts and how to think about this kind of thing in health care. | Shire plc last year -- that's ticker SHPG, I believe -- AbbVie had indicated it was going to buy up Shire, Shire soared enormously on the news, and then AbbVie ended up backing out of the deal when tax inversions were made more difficult by the U.S. federal government and Shire lost 20% in a single day. I think first off, the most important thing for any investor to know is, here at The Motley Fool -- and I would say certainly for me, personally, when I'm investing -- and Todd, you can speak to your experience -- but really discourage people from buying a company because they think it's going to get bought out because all to often that doesn't happen. So, I think the first -- the key thing, even though we're talking about a buyout and what a great thing it was for Synageva BioPharma shareholders -- one of the key things to remember is that you really shouldn't buy a stock based on the fact that you think it could get bought out. | Shire plc last year -- that's ticker SHPG, I believe -- AbbVie had indicated it was going to buy up Shire, Shire soared enormously on the news, and then AbbVie ended up backing out of the deal when tax inversions were made more difficult by the U.S. federal government and Shire lost 20% in a single day. What I wanted to do today was talk through the deal a little bit, and then let's talk about rare diseases, buyouts and how to think about this kind of thing in health care. I think first off, the most important thing for any investor to know is, here at The Motley Fool -- and I would say certainly for me, personally, when I'm investing -- and Todd, you can speak to your experience -- but really discourage people from buying a company because they think it's going to get bought out because all to often that doesn't happen. |
26952.0 | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC | Agree To Purchase AbbVie At $40, Earn 3.1% Using Options | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/agree-purchase-abbvie-40-earn-31-using-options-2015-05-07 | nan | nan | Investors considering a purchase of AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) stock, but cautious about paying the going market price of $64.06/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. One interesting put contract in particular, is the January 2017 put at the $40 strike, which has a bid at the time of this writing of $1.25. Collecting that bid as the premium represents a 3.1% return against the $40 commitment, or a 1.8% annualized rate of return (at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost ).
Selling a put does not give an investor access to ABBV's upside potential the way owning shares would, because the put seller only ends up owning shares in the scenario where the contract is exercised. And the person on the other side of the contract would only benefit from exercising at the $40 strike if doing so produced a better outcome than selling at the going market price. ( Do options carry counterparty risk? This and six other common options myths debunked ). So unless AbbVie Inc. sees its shares fall 37.5% and the contract is exercised (resulting in a cost basis of $38.75 per share before broker commissions, subtracting the $1.25 from $40), the only upside to the put seller is from collecting that premium for the 1.8% annualized rate of return.
Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for AbbVie Inc., and highlighting in green where the $40 strike is located relative to that history:
The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2017 put at the $40 strike for the 1.8% annualized rate of return represents good reward for the risks. We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for AbbVie Inc. (considering the last 253 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $64.06) to be 26%. For other put options contract ideas at the various different available expirations, visit the ABBV Stock Options page of StockOptionsChannel.com.
In mid-afternoon trading on Thursday, the put volume among S&P 500 components was 661,426 contracts, with call volume at 661,426, for a put:call ratio of 0.73 so far for the day, which is above normal compared to the long-term median put:call ratio of .65. In other words, if we look at the number of call buyers and then use the long-term median to project the number of put buyers we'd expect to see, we're actually seeing more put buyers than expected out there in options trading so far today. Find out which 15 call and put options traders are talking about today .
Top YieldBoost Puts of Stocks Analysts Like »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Investors considering a purchase of AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) stock, but cautious about paying the going market price of $64.06/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for AbbVie Inc., and highlighting in green where the $40 strike is located relative to that history: The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2017 put at the $40 strike for the 1.8% annualized rate of return represents good reward for the risks. We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for AbbVie Inc. (considering the last 253 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $64.06) to be 26%. | Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for AbbVie Inc., and highlighting in green where the $40 strike is located relative to that history: The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2017 put at the $40 strike for the 1.8% annualized rate of return represents good reward for the risks. Investors considering a purchase of AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) stock, but cautious about paying the going market price of $64.06/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. Selling a put does not give an investor access to ABBV's upside potential the way owning shares would, because the put seller only ends up owning shares in the scenario where the contract is exercised. | Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for AbbVie Inc., and highlighting in green where the $40 strike is located relative to that history: The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2017 put at the $40 strike for the 1.8% annualized rate of return represents good reward for the risks. Investors considering a purchase of AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) stock, but cautious about paying the going market price of $64.06/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. Selling a put does not give an investor access to ABBV's upside potential the way owning shares would, because the put seller only ends up owning shares in the scenario where the contract is exercised. | Investors considering a purchase of AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) stock, but cautious about paying the going market price of $64.06/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. Selling a put does not give an investor access to ABBV's upside potential the way owning shares would, because the put seller only ends up owning shares in the scenario where the contract is exercised. Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for AbbVie Inc., and highlighting in green where the $40 strike is located relative to that history: The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2017 put at the $40 strike for the 1.8% annualized rate of return represents good reward for the risks. |
26953.0 | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC | Big Pharma Giant AbbVie Inc. Took Off in April -- Here's Why | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/big-pharma-giant-abbvie-inc-took-april-heres-why-2015-05-07 | nan | nan | ABBV data by YCharts
What: Shares of big pharmaceutical giant AbbVie rocketed higher by 11% in April, according to data from S&P Capital IQ , following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings results and after receiving a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration for Viekira Pak in a new indication.
So what: For the quarter, AbbVie reported global sales of $5.04 billion, up 17.8% over the prior-year period on a constant currency basis, as global sales of Humira -- the best-selling drug in the world in 2014 -- rose 26% on an operational basis. Overall, Humira accounted for $3.11 billion of AbbVie's $5.04 billion in sales. Hepatitis C combo therapy Viekira Pak totaled $231 million in its first full quarter, including $138 million in the United States. Adjusted profit per share jumped 32% to $0.94 in Q1.
Comparably speaking, Wall Street was looking for only $0.85 in EPS and $5.01 billion in revenue. Humira sales again topped Wall Street's lofty expectations, however Viekira Pak's $138 million in U.S. sales missed the $215 million Wall Street consensus.
AbbVie also wound up boosting its full-year EPS forecast on the heels of its strong results. It now expects adjusted EPS to range between $4.10 and $4.30 from a prior forecast that called for $4.05-$4.25 in adjusted EPS.
Additionally, the FDA granted priority review to Viekira Pak as an all-oral and interferon-free treatment for genotype 4 HCV. Genotype 4 is fairly uncommon, but considering that Viekira Pak is only labeled for genotype 1 at present, obtaining the priority review is a positive sign that could lead to added sales for the combo drug.
Source: AbbVie.
Now what: Overall, this was a very solid quarter for AbbVie, although a majority of revenue is still tied to anti-inflammatory drug Humira, which will begin to lose the first of its patents next year. Humira's multiple and staggered labeling indications will buy AbbVie time, so it's not as if $12 billion-plus in sales will immediately be exposed to generic competition. However, AbbVie is going to need Viekira Pak to step up and help abate some of the revenue losses that are inevitable from the introduction of generic competition to Humira in the United States.
In spite of its lower wholesale cost and a multi-year exclusive agreement with pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts , AbbVie's HCV combo didn't sell very well in Q1. By comparison, Gilead Sciences ' Harvoni racked up $3.58 billion, with $3.02 billion of those dollars coming within the United States. It would appear, at least in the early going, that Harvoni's single-pill convenience and lack of a need for a ribavirin (some Viekira Pak patients need to take a ribavirin) are making it the go-to HCV drug.
I believe AbbVie still holds blockbuster potential with Viekira Pak simply because of the sheer number of HCV patients worldwide that need to be treated -- 180 million per the World Health Organization. I'm skeptical that Viekira Pak will replace Huimra's exceptional revenue stream, but I do see the potential for Viekira Pak to grow into a multi-billion drug by 2016. With that being said, I'm leery of suggesting AbbVie has a lot of additional upside considering Humira's uncertain sales future beyond 2016, and would wait for a substantial pullback in its share price before considering a position.
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The article Big Pharma Giant AbbVie Inc. Took Off in April -- Here's Why originally appeared on Fool.com.
Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong , track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong , and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong .The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | In spite of its lower wholesale cost and a multi-year exclusive agreement with pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts , AbbVie's HCV combo didn't sell very well in Q1. I believe AbbVie still holds blockbuster potential with Viekira Pak simply because of the sheer number of HCV patients worldwide that need to be treated -- 180 million per the World Health Organization. With that being said, I'm leery of suggesting AbbVie has a lot of additional upside considering Humira's uncertain sales future beyond 2016, and would wait for a substantial pullback in its share price before considering a position. | In spite of its lower wholesale cost and a multi-year exclusive agreement with pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts , AbbVie's HCV combo didn't sell very well in Q1. ABBV data by YCharts What: Shares of big pharmaceutical giant AbbVie rocketed higher by 11% in April, according to data from S&P Capital IQ , following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings results and after receiving a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration for Viekira Pak in a new indication. So what: For the quarter, AbbVie reported global sales of $5.04 billion, up 17.8% over the prior-year period on a constant currency basis, as global sales of Humira -- the best-selling drug in the world in 2014 -- rose 26% on an operational basis. | ABBV data by YCharts What: Shares of big pharmaceutical giant AbbVie rocketed higher by 11% in April, according to data from S&P Capital IQ , following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings results and after receiving a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration for Viekira Pak in a new indication. So what: For the quarter, AbbVie reported global sales of $5.04 billion, up 17.8% over the prior-year period on a constant currency basis, as global sales of Humira -- the best-selling drug in the world in 2014 -- rose 26% on an operational basis. Overall, Humira accounted for $3.11 billion of AbbVie's $5.04 billion in sales. | Overall, Humira accounted for $3.11 billion of AbbVie's $5.04 billion in sales. ABBV data by YCharts What: Shares of big pharmaceutical giant AbbVie rocketed higher by 11% in April, according to data from S&P Capital IQ , following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings results and after receiving a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration for Viekira Pak in a new indication. So what: For the quarter, AbbVie reported global sales of $5.04 billion, up 17.8% over the prior-year period on a constant currency basis, as global sales of Humira -- the best-selling drug in the world in 2014 -- rose 26% on an operational basis. |
26954.0 | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC | Alexion to Buy Synageva for $8.4B: Alexion Down, Synageva Up - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/alexion-to-buy-synageva-for-%248.4b%3A-alexion-down-synageva-up-analyst-blog-2015-05-07 | nan | nan | Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ALXN announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Synageva BioPharma Corp. GEVA in a transaction valued at approximately $8.4 billion net of Synageva's cash. The deal is expected to close in mid-2015.
The consideration of $230 ($115 in cash and 0.6581 Alexion shares) for each share of Synageva represents an approximately 140% premium over Synageva's undisturbed closing price on May 5. Synageva shares shot up 112.2% on the news. However, Alexion shares declined 8% due to concerns over the acquisition value.
What Alexion Stands to Gain?
Currently, there are no approved products at Synageva. Its lead pipeline candidate, Kanuma, is under regulatory review in the U.S. and Europe for the treatment of lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL deficiency). The company expects a response from the FDA regarding the approval status of Kanuma by Sep 8, 2015. A regulatory decision in Europe is expected in the second half of 2015.
Kanuma enjoys an orphan drug designation in the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, it has received fast track designation and Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA for LAL deficiency in infants.
With Soliris being the only approved product, Alexion is currently a one-drug company. The company relies entirely on Soliris for growth. The lead pipeline candidate at Alexion is Strensiq for hypophosphatasia. The company expects an opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on Strensiq in the first half of this year, while the U.S. approval and launch are expected in the second half.
Thus, the addition of Kanuma to Alexion's pipeline has the potential to accelerate and diversify revenues. Alexion expects to achieve annual cost synergies from the deal starting this year and growing to at least $150 million in 2017. The transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2018.
The acquisition will also add several other pipeline candidates including SBC-103 (phase I/II - for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB).
Apart from the Synageva deal, Alexion also announced that its board of directors has increased the size of the company's share repurchase authorization to a total of $1 billion. There is no fixed timeframe for the repurchases. However, no repurchases are expected until the Synageva acquisition is completed.
The M&A frenzy shows no signs of slowing down in the health care sector. Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion to gain partial rights to Imbruvica. Imbruvica is expected to generate U.S. net product revenues of approximately $1 billion in 2015.
Our Take
We are positive on Alexion's efforts to diversify and reduce its dependence on Soliris for growth. However, we remain concerned as Kanuma is yet to be approved anywhere and its commercial potential is not proven in the market. Other pipeline candidates at Synageva are still several years away from entering the market if at all.
Alexion currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD is a better-ranked stock in the health care space carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion to gain partial rights to Imbruvica. Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report SYNAGEVA BIOPHM (GEVA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Apart from the Synageva deal, Alexion also announced that its board of directors has increased the size of the company's share repurchase authorization to a total of $1 billion. | Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion to gain partial rights to Imbruvica. Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report SYNAGEVA BIOPHM (GEVA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ALXN announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Synageva BioPharma Corp. GEVA in a transaction valued at approximately $8.4 billion net of Synageva's cash. | Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report SYNAGEVA BIOPHM (GEVA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion to gain partial rights to Imbruvica. The consideration of $230 ($115 in cash and 0.6581 Alexion shares) for each share of Synageva represents an approximately 140% premium over Synageva's undisturbed closing price on May 5. | Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion to gain partial rights to Imbruvica. Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report SYNAGEVA BIOPHM (GEVA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The deal is expected to close in mid-2015. |
26955.0 | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC | What's in Store for Repros (RPRX) this Earnings Season? - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/whats-in-store-for-repros-rprx-this-earnings-season-analyst-blog-2015-05-07 | nan | nan | Repros Therapeutics Inc.RPRX is expected to report first-quarter 2015 results on May 11. Overall, the company has posted an average positive earnings surprise of 5.08% over the past four quarters. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors at Play This Quarter
Repro, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of a potential treatment for hormonal and reproductive system disorders, currently has two candidates in its pipeline: enclomiphene citrate (previously known as Androxal; secondary hypogonadism) and Proellex (uterine fibroids and endometriosis).
Repros' lead pipeline candidate, enclomiphene citrate is under development for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism in overweight men wishing to restore normal testicular function. The candidate is currently under FDA review with a response expected by Nov 30, 2015.
In Apr 2015, the European Medicines Agency informed the company that the centralized marketing authorization application (MAA) for the candidate can be submitted as a new active substance. Repros intends to submit a regulatory application in the EU in the first quarter of 2016.
With no approved product in its portfolio at the moment and enclomiphene citrate being the company's lead pipeline candidate, investor focus should remain on its approval status and other pipeline related updates.
Meanwhile, the company is conducting a couple of phase IIb efficacy studies on Proellex (both oral and vaginal administration) for the treatment of uterine fibroids in women who experience heavy vaginal bleeding due to these benign tumors. The company expects to complete the first course of treatment in both studies by the end of 2015. Additionally, the company expects the phase II study on Proellex (low-dose oral administration), being developed for endometriosis to be fully enrolled by the end of 2015.
Currently, Repros is looking for partnerships for funding its pipeline development activities and commercialization of its products, if approved.
We note that AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies in the broader health care sector you may want to consider as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements -- a positive Zacks Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold)-- to post an earnings beat this quarter.
Impax Laboratories Inc. IPXL has an Earnings ESP of +15.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter 2015 results on May 11.
The Earnings ESP for Actavis ACT is +0.78% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release results on May 11.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We note that AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Click to get this free report IMPAX LABORATRS (IPXL): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Factors at Play This Quarter Repro, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of a potential treatment for hormonal and reproductive system disorders, currently has two candidates in its pipeline: enclomiphene citrate (previously known as Androxal; secondary hypogonadism) and Proellex (uterine fibroids and endometriosis). | Click to get this free report IMPAX LABORATRS (IPXL): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Repros' lead pipeline candidate, enclomiphene citrate is under development for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism in overweight men wishing to restore normal testicular function. | Click to get this free report IMPAX LABORATRS (IPXL): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Factors at Play This Quarter Repro, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of a potential treatment for hormonal and reproductive system disorders, currently has two candidates in its pipeline: enclomiphene citrate (previously known as Androxal; secondary hypogonadism) and Proellex (uterine fibroids and endometriosis). | We note that AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Click to get this free report IMPAX LABORATRS (IPXL): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Repros' lead pipeline candidate, enclomiphene citrate is under development for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism in overweight men wishing to restore normal testicular function. |
26956.0 | 2015-05-05 00:00:00 UTC | SSO, ABBV, ACN, AES: Large Outflows Detected at ETF | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/sso-abbv-acn-aes-large-outflows-detected-etf-2015-05-05 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $67.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.3% decrease week over week (from 14,975,000 to 14,475,000). Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.1%, Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is off about 0.4%, and AES Corp. (Symbol: AES) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.43. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.1%, Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is off about 0.4%, and AES Corp. (Symbol: AES) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $67.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.3% decrease week over week (from 14,975,000 to 14,475,000). These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.1%, Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is off about 0.4%, and AES Corp. (Symbol: AES) is lower by about 0.7%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.43. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.1%, Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is off about 0.4%, and AES Corp. (Symbol: AES) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $67.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.3% decrease week over week (from 14,975,000 to 14,475,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.43. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 0.1%, Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is off about 0.4%, and AES Corp. (Symbol: AES) is lower by about 0.7%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $67.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 3.3% decrease week over week (from 14,975,000 to 14,475,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $100.04 per share, with $136.78 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $134.43. |
26957.0 | 2015-05-04 00:00:00 UTC | Pharmacyclics Beats on Q1 Earnings, Misses Revenues - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/pharmacyclics-beats-on-q1-earnings-misses-revenues-analyst-blog-2015-05-04 | nan | nan | Pharmacyclics, Inc. 's PCYC first-quarter 2015 earnings of 13 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents. However, earnings were down from the year-ago figure of 23 cents per share. Results in the quarter were hurt by higher expenses.
Pharmacyclics Inc. - Quarterly EPS | FindTheCompany
Total revenues in the first quarter of 2015 jumped to $205.8 million from $119.4 million in the year-ago quarter. However, revenues were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $222 million.
Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. The deal, valued at approximately $21 billion, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.
Quarterly Details
Imbruvica is Pharmacyclics' sole marketed product. The company's net product revenues in the U.S. rose to $189.2 million in the first quarter from $56.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
We remind investors that Imbruvica gained FDA approval for all lines of therapy for the treatment of patients suffering from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) in Jan 2015. This makes Imbruvica the first and only FDA approved treatment for this indication.
We note that this is the fourth approval for Imbruvica. Imbruvica is currently approved for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have received at least one previous therapy and for CLL patients with a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17. We are encouraged by the label expansion of Imbruvica.
Meanwhile, Pharmacyclics is working on expanding Imbruvica's label further and is evaluating the drug for indications like small lymphocytic lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma among others.
Pharmacyclics has a collaboration agreement with Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson JNJ company, for Imbruvica.
Research & development expenses were $49.4 million as compared to $35.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Selling, general & development (SG&A) expenses went up 11% to $30.7 million in the reported quarter.
Our Take
Although Pharmacyclics missed on first-quarter revenues, we are pleased with the increase in U.S. revenues. We expect Imbruvica sales to increase significantly going forward, driven by new indications in the product label and approval in new regions. We are also positive on the better-than-expected earnings report this quarter.
Pharmacyclics holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other well-ranked stock in the health care space includes Biogen BIIB carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. Click to get this free report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We remind investors that Imbruvica gained FDA approval for all lines of therapy for the treatment of patients suffering from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) in Jan 2015. | Click to get this free report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. Pharmacyclics, Inc. 's PCYC first-quarter 2015 earnings of 13 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents. | Click to get this free report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. Pharmacyclics Inc. - Quarterly EPS | FindTheCompany Total revenues in the first quarter of 2015 jumped to $205.8 million from $119.4 million in the year-ago quarter. | Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. Click to get this free report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Pharmacyclics Inc. - Quarterly EPS | FindTheCompany Total revenues in the first quarter of 2015 jumped to $205.8 million from $119.4 million in the year-ago quarter. |
26958.0 | 2015-05-02 00:00:00 UTC | The Best Way to Invest Money in Silicon Valley | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/best-way-invest-money-silicon-valley-2015-05-02 | nan | nan | Silicon Valley has been the cradle of tech growth in the U.S. since the 1950s. As early players like Hewlett-Packard matured, new start-ups arrived and became established tech titans on their own. Today, Silicon Valley is filled with so many tech companies that it's tough for new investors to know where to start investing their money.
In my opinion, there's one Silicon Valley company that's both a solid investment and an embodiment of the region's most innovative qualities -- Google , the search engine that evolved into an 800-pound gorilla on the Internet. Let's take a look at Google's core strengths, innovations, and blind spots.
Source: Image via Pixabay .
Google's strengths
Google's core strengths are easy to see. It processes 62% of the world's search queries on the Internet, according to Net Market Share. Its mobile OS, Android, is found on 77% of smartphones worldwide, according to IDC. Chrome is the second most popular web browser after Microsoft 's Internet Explorer.
Thanks to those strengths, Google generates the highest advertising revenue of any Internet advertising company. In 2014, Google reported $59.6 billion in advertising revenues. By comparison, Facebook posted $11.5 billion in advertising revenues last year. Google is also highly profitable. In 2014, its net income from continuing operations rose 4.4% annually to $13.9 billion, accounting for 21% of its revenues.
Since Google depends on advertising revenues instead of software sales, it can offer software products like Android, Chrome OS, and Drive for free. This tethers more users to its sprawling ecosystem while wreaking havoc on companies like Microsoft. To shore up its defenses against Google, Microsoft had to either reduce prices for Windows and Office licenses or give them away for free. Both strategies have taken a toll on its bottom line.
Google's innovations
Google depends heavily on search and ad revenues today, but that could change in the future if its "moon shots" evolve into revenue-generating businesses. Four key areas to watch are driverless cars, robotics, health care, and Internet connections for developing nations.
Google expects driverless cars to hit public roads by 2020. Google demonstrated prototype driverless cars last year, and is currently mapping out roads for these next-gen vehicles.
It also acquired Boston Dynamics, a leading manufacturer of military robots. These machines could fulfill various useful roles at home and abroad, although they also conjure up dystopian visions of a Google-dominated future. And that's only one of several robotics companies Google has purchased in the past couple of years.
In health care, Google has formed its own biotech subsidiary, Calico, which partnered with AbbVie last year to research and develop treatments for age-related diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease. It also initiated an ambitious human genome project to create an online database of biomarkers to help companies develop medications for various diseases, and has also developed medical devices, like a prototype contact lens that can read blood sugar levels from tears, which it licensed to Novartis last July.
Google's contact lens. Source: Google.
Google is also launching Wi-Fi weather balloons to deliver Internet access to developing nations and remote regions. These balloons can tether first-time Internet users to Google's ecosystem.
Google's blind spots
However, Google has three major weaknesses that can't be ignored.
First, Facebook is redefining the Internet by weaving its social network through third-party apps and sites. By tethering them to its News Feed, it offers advertisers a centralized location to deliver ads. As a result, Facebook is crushing Google -- which repeatedly failed at social networking -- in mobile display ad revenues. Research firm eMarketer claims that Facebook last year generated $3.54 billion in mobile display ad revenue in the U.S., compared to just $1.13 billion for Google.
Second, Google remains far behind Amazon in product searches. Last year, Google chairman Eric Schmidt admitted that "more than twice" the number of people looking to buy something online started on Amazon as on Google. Amazon is now leveraging that strength to expand its Prime ecosystem through digital sales, hardware products like Fire TV, and local delivery options.
Lastly, Google is being beaten down by regulators. It currently faces an antitrust probe in the EU over allegations of using its "search bias" to promote its first-party sites over third-party ones, along with a separate investigation into its app bundling practices in Android. Since Google generates over a third of its revenue from Europe, adverse rulings there could impact its top-line growth.
Should you invest in Google?
Google's upside might remain limited until it can successfully cover those blind spots. But in my opinion, it's still a solid stock to own for the long run, and it could evolve into a much different company over the next few decades.
The next billion-dollar Apple secret
Apple forgot to show you something at its recent event, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering Apple's brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here .
The article The Best Way to Invest Money in Silicon Valley originally appeared on Fool.com.
Leo Sun owns shares of Apple and Facebook. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Apple, Facebook, Google (A shares), and Google (C shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Apple, Facebook, Google (A shares), and Google (C shares). Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | In health care, Google has formed its own biotech subsidiary, Calico, which partnered with AbbVie last year to research and develop treatments for age-related diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In my opinion, there's one Silicon Valley company that's both a solid investment and an embodiment of the region's most innovative qualities -- Google , the search engine that evolved into an 800-pound gorilla on the Internet. Amazon is now leveraging that strength to expand its Prime ecosystem through digital sales, hardware products like Fire TV, and local delivery options. | In health care, Google has formed its own biotech subsidiary, Calico, which partnered with AbbVie last year to research and develop treatments for age-related diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Since Google depends on advertising revenues instead of software sales, it can offer software products like Android, Chrome OS, and Drive for free. Research firm eMarketer claims that Facebook last year generated $3.54 billion in mobile display ad revenue in the U.S., compared to just $1.13 billion for Google. | In health care, Google has formed its own biotech subsidiary, Calico, which partnered with AbbVie last year to research and develop treatments for age-related diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Google's innovations Google depends heavily on search and ad revenues today, but that could change in the future if its "moon shots" evolve into revenue-generating businesses. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Apple, Facebook, Google (A shares), and Google (C shares). | In health care, Google has formed its own biotech subsidiary, Calico, which partnered with AbbVie last year to research and develop treatments for age-related diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In my opinion, there's one Silicon Valley company that's both a solid investment and an embodiment of the region's most innovative qualities -- Google , the search engine that evolved into an 800-pound gorilla on the Internet. Since Google depends on advertising revenues instead of software sales, it can offer software products like Android, Chrome OS, and Drive for free. |
26959.0 | 2015-05-02 00:00:00 UTC | Bristol-Myers Squibb Outpaces AbbVie in Hepatitis C | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/bristol-myers-squibb-outpaces-abbvie-hepatitis-c-2015-05-02 | nan | nan | Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb
The quarterly earnings seasons always brings surprises, and this quarter Bristol-Myers Squibb reported sales for its hepatitis C drugs that may shock some AbbVie investors.
In the first quarter, Bristol-Myers reported that it racked up $264 million in sales from its hepatitis C drugs, outpacing AbbVie's highly anticipated Viekira Pak, which posted sales of $231 million in Q1. Here's what you need to know about these drugs as they face off during the remainder of 2015.
Battling over second place
Thanks to Sovaldi, a pan-genotype medicine that offers cure rates north of 90%, and Harvoni, a genotype 1 therapy with mid 90% cure rates, Gilead Sciences remains the de facto Goliath in hepatitis C treatment.
Gilead Sciences won FDA approval of Sovaldi in December 2013, and its high cure rates, shorter treatment duration, and removal of the need for side-effect laden peg interferon injections for many patients, turned it into a near-instant blockbuster. In 2014, Sovaldi sales totaled $10.3 billion, making it the second-best-selling drug on the planet.
In October, Gilead Sciences strengthened its lead in hepatitis C treatment with the FDA approval of Harvoni, a drug that cuts treatment duration to as little as eight weeks for 40% of patients, offers mid 90% cure rates, and does away with the need for both peg interferon and ribavirin, another drug laden with side effects. Those advantages led to sales of Harvoni topping $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter -- its first on the market.
Since Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C sales eclipsed $12.4 billion in 2014, there's little chance that competing therapies from AbbVie or Bristol-Myers -- both of which are arguably not as good as Gilead Sciences' drugs -- will displace it anytime soon. Instead, Bristol-Myers and AbbVie are angling to be the second seed in this multi-billion dollar indication.
Source: AbbVie
Two different approaches
Bristol-Myers and AbbVie each took a different path in their quest for hepatitis C market share. Bristol-Myers focused its attention abroad, while AbbVie concentrated on the United States.
Bristol-Myers developed its NS5A inhibitor Daklinza and NS3/4A protease inhibitor Sunvepra with an eye on winning approval in Japan, and that strategy allowed it to become the first company to market an all-oral regimen that casts aside peg interferon and ribavirin in that market.
Japan is the planet's third-largest drug market, and it's home to more than 1.2 million hepatitis C patients, most of which are diagnosed with the genotype 1 variation that Daklinza and Sunvepra are approved to treat. The size of the Japanese market and Bristol-Myers' first mover advantage gave the company an edge over competitors, but Bristol-Myers has also carved out success in Europe.
Despite Gilead Sciences opting out of teaming up with Bristol-Myers to conduct late stage trials evaluating a combination of Daklinza and Sovaldi, Bristol-Myers was still able to win over EU regulators last August after the two drug combo delivered cure rates as high as 100% in trials.
Overall, approvals in Japan and Europe allowed Bristol-Myers to generate $207 million in sales during the fourth quarter and $264 million in Q1, without the benefit of any U.S. approvals for the indication.
Bristol-Myers' ex-U.S. approach was the opposite of AbbVie's.
Instead of targeting abroad markets, AbbVie's followed the more conventional route and pursued a launch of its drug cocktail Viekira Pak in America.
The FDA gave AbbVie the go-ahead to begin marketing Viekira Pak to U.S. patients in December, igniting a pricing war over hepatitis C drugs that resulted in a steep discounts and an AbbVie exclusivity agreement with Express Scripts , the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager. In January, AbbVie notched approval for Viekira Pak in Europe, and in April, Viekira Pak was awarded priority review by Japanese regulators.
As a result of the U.S. and European approvals, AbbVie reported first quarter sales of Viekira Pak totaled $231 million. Although that's a respectable launch, it still fell far short of Harvoni's $2.1 billion first quarter.
Looking forward
Gilead Sciences' Harvoni has an easier dosing schedule than Viekira Pak, so Viekira Pak is likely to remain a second tier player to it, but a much more interesting battle will continue to be fought between Bristol-Myers and AbbVie.
Bristol-Myers' Daklinza also has an arguably easier dosing regimen than Viekira Pak, so doctors and patients may lean toward it. Additionally, recently-reported phase 3 trial results studying Daklinza alongside Sovaldi in tough-to-treat hepatitis C patients were impressive, and that could mean that Bristol-Myers is able to differentiate itself.
In post-liver transplant hepatitis C patients, combining Daklinza and Sovaldi achieved a functional cure rate of 94%, and in patients with severe liver scarring the cure rate was a solid 83%. Those results could make Daklinza a key weapon used in certain subsets of hepatitis C patients.
Those findings suggest that while the jury may still be out on who will eventually win the silver in hepatitis C market share, investors shouldn't discount Bristol-Myers potential to out deliver AbbVie in terms of hepatitis C revenue.
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One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Bristol-Myers Squibb Outpaces AbbVie in Hepatitis C originally appeared on Fool.com.
Todd Campbell owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may or may not have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb The quarterly earnings seasons always brings surprises, and this quarter Bristol-Myers Squibb reported sales for its hepatitis C drugs that may shock some AbbVie investors. In the first quarter, Bristol-Myers reported that it racked up $264 million in sales from its hepatitis C drugs, outpacing AbbVie's highly anticipated Viekira Pak, which posted sales of $231 million in Q1. Since Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C sales eclipsed $12.4 billion in 2014, there's little chance that competing therapies from AbbVie or Bristol-Myers -- both of which are arguably not as good as Gilead Sciences' drugs -- will displace it anytime soon. | As a result of the U.S. and European approvals, AbbVie reported first quarter sales of Viekira Pak totaled $231 million. Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb The quarterly earnings seasons always brings surprises, and this quarter Bristol-Myers Squibb reported sales for its hepatitis C drugs that may shock some AbbVie investors. In the first quarter, Bristol-Myers reported that it racked up $264 million in sales from its hepatitis C drugs, outpacing AbbVie's highly anticipated Viekira Pak, which posted sales of $231 million in Q1. | Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb The quarterly earnings seasons always brings surprises, and this quarter Bristol-Myers Squibb reported sales for its hepatitis C drugs that may shock some AbbVie investors. In the first quarter, Bristol-Myers reported that it racked up $264 million in sales from its hepatitis C drugs, outpacing AbbVie's highly anticipated Viekira Pak, which posted sales of $231 million in Q1. Since Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C sales eclipsed $12.4 billion in 2014, there's little chance that competing therapies from AbbVie or Bristol-Myers -- both of which are arguably not as good as Gilead Sciences' drugs -- will displace it anytime soon. | In the first quarter, Bristol-Myers reported that it racked up $264 million in sales from its hepatitis C drugs, outpacing AbbVie's highly anticipated Viekira Pak, which posted sales of $231 million in Q1. As a result of the U.S. and European approvals, AbbVie reported first quarter sales of Viekira Pak totaled $231 million. Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb The quarterly earnings seasons always brings surprises, and this quarter Bristol-Myers Squibb reported sales for its hepatitis C drugs that may shock some AbbVie investors. |
26960.0 | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | Gilead Tops Q1 Earnings Estimates, 2015 Outlook Revised - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gilead-tops-q1-earnings-estimates-2015-outlook-revised-analyst-blog-2015-05-01 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences, Inc. 's GILD first-quarter earnings (including stock-based compensation expenses) of $2.89 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.78. Moreover, reported earnings were way above the year-ago figure of $1.44 per share.
Gilead Sciences Inc. - Quarterly EPS | FindTheCompany
Total revenues of $7.6 billion were much above the year-ago figure of $5 billion. Quarterly revenues were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.8 billion.
Quarter in Detail
Product sales were up 52% to approximately $7.4 billion driven by the inclusion of sales of hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug, Harvoni.
Antiviral product sales for the quarter registered growth of 55% to $7 billion driven by Harvoni. Harvoni recorded revenues of $3.6 billion, in the first quarter of 2015, up approximately 70% sequentially. Another HCV drug, Sovaldi, registered sales of $972 million, down 57.3% from the year-ago figure, owing to availability of newer HCV therapies.
Other anti-viral products, such as HIV treatments Complera/Eviplera (up 27.5% to $320 million) and Stribild (up 65.6% to $356 million) performed very well. Sales of older HIV drugs like Truvada (up 1.4% to $771 million) and Viread (up 10.9% to $234 million) were also impressive. However, Atripla sales declined 5.9% to $734 million. The company expects Atripla sales to continue to decline.
Other products including Letairis, Ranexa and AmBisome recorded sales of $151 million (up 22.8%), $117 million (up 5.4%) and $82 million (down 7.6%), respectively. Newly launched Zydelig also performed well, recording revenues of $26 million, up 52.9% sequentially.
Research & development (R&D) expenses (including stock-based compensation expenses) climbed 17.1% to $693 million in the first quarter of 2015 due to increased investment in pipeline. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses (including stock-based compensation expenses) increased 18.5% to $647 million. SG&A expenses shot up primarily due to the increase in expenses associated with HCV products.
2015 Guidance Revised
Gilead upped its product sales guidance. Gilead expects product sales in the range of $28-$29 billion (previous guidance: $26-$27 billion). The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28 billion is at the low end of the guidance range.
Adjusted product gross margin for 2015 is projected in the range of 87-90%. R&D expenses (excluding stock-based compensation expenses and other special items) are projected in the range of $3-$3.3 billion. SG&A expenses are also projected in the range of $3 -$3.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the company declared its first quarterly dividend. Gilead has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 43 cents per share of common stock, to be paid on Jun 29, 2015, to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on the record date of Jun 16, 2015.
The company also repurchased shares worth $3.0 billion in the first quarter of 2015.
Our Take
Gilead posted strong first-quarter results with both earnings and revenues beating our expectations. We expect investors to react positively to the news.
We are nevertheless concerned about additional pricing measures in the form of rebates and discounts which could lead to a slowdown in Harvoni sales in 2015. The anticipated continued decline in Atripla sales due to newer HIV therapies is also concerning.
We note that several companies including AbbVie Inc. ABBV have launched their HCV treatments in the market.
Going forward, we expect investor focus to remain on the ramp up of Harvoni. Additionally, we could see some merger & acquisition activity from the company.
Gilead currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Biogen BIIB and Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. CYTX . Both are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We note that several companies including AbbVie Inc. ABBV have launched their HCV treatments in the market. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report CYTORI THERAPEU (CYTX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Gilead Sciences, Inc. 's GILD first-quarter earnings (including stock-based compensation expenses) of $2.89 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.78. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report CYTORI THERAPEU (CYTX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that several companies including AbbVie Inc. ABBV have launched their HCV treatments in the market. Gilead Sciences, Inc. 's GILD first-quarter earnings (including stock-based compensation expenses) of $2.89 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.78. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report CYTORI THERAPEU (CYTX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that several companies including AbbVie Inc. ABBV have launched their HCV treatments in the market. Quarter in Detail Product sales were up 52% to approximately $7.4 billion driven by the inclusion of sales of hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug, Harvoni. | We note that several companies including AbbVie Inc. ABBV have launched their HCV treatments in the market. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report CYTORI THERAPEU (CYTX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Quarterly revenues were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.8 billion. |
26961.0 | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | Gilead Sciences, Inc. Earnings: Hepatitis C Market by the Numbers | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gilead-sciences-inc-earnings-hepatitis-c-market-numbers-2015-05-01 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences rocked its first-quarter earnings, blowing past analysts' and its own estimates. Here's the numbers you need to know:
$4.55 : Amount of Harvoni and Sovaldi sales in billions . Gilead said more hepatitis C patients were treated this quarter thanks to the excitement over Harvoni, and payers relaxing restrictions on which patients can receive the drug. The sales were muted somewhat by discounts, which are expected to grow in the coming quarters.
30% : The percentage of sales that are going to public healthcare plans, such as Medicaid. Because the public plans get steeper discounts than commercial insurers, it's important to keep an eye on the mix.
57%: The year-over-year decline in sales of Sovaldi. No one blinked an eye about this, of course, because most of the patients who would have taken Sovaldi took Harvoni instead. Sovaldi is still being used for hepatitis C patients infected with some genotypes where it can cure patients on its own, but for patients infected with hepatitis C genotype 1 virus, Harvoni doesn't require add-on shots like Sovaldi, and has naturally become the drug of choice for that genotype.
90% : Harvoni's share of the market for U.S. patients infected with hepatitis C genotype 1 virus in the first quarter. Despite competition from AbbVie and others, Gilead has managed to capture a vast majority of the market. Discounts gave the company access, but it's been the one-pill-per-day format that has allowed it to dominate over AbbVie's Viekira Pak, which requires multiple pills per day.
4% : The amount of the estimated 6.6 million hepatitis C patients in the U.S. and five largest EU counties who have been treated with Harvoni or Sovaldi since Sovaldi launched. Obviously that means there are still plenty of patients left to treat.
70,000 : Number of U.S. hepatitis C patients who started Gilead therapy in the first quarter, which was 50% higher than the prior quarter. Management thinks there's capacity to treat between 250,000 and "the high 200,000s" of patients in the U.S. per year, which means we're probably close to capacity given the 280,000 patient run rate based on the first quarter.
$2 : The amount that Gilead raised its 2015 sales guidance by in billions . That's a raise of guidance by the equivalent of two blockbuster drugs! Many companies would love to have $2 billion in total sales. Gilead is looking for 2015 product sales between $28 billion and $29 billion.
18% : Year-over-year increase in Gilead's selling, general, and administrative costs. Compare that to the 52% increase in revenue, and you can see just how profitable selling hepatitis C drugs has been for the company. Gilead has sales reps marketing to doctors, but Harvoni is basically selling itself given the pent-up demand for an all-oral hepatitis C drug.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Gilead Sciences, Inc. Earnings: Hepatitis C Market by the Numbers originally appeared on Fool.com.
Brian Orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and owns shares of the company. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Discounts gave the company access, but it's been the one-pill-per-day format that has allowed it to dominate over AbbVie's Viekira Pak, which requires multiple pills per day. Despite competition from AbbVie and others, Gilead has managed to capture a vast majority of the market. Gilead has sales reps marketing to doctors, but Harvoni is basically selling itself given the pent-up demand for an all-oral hepatitis C drug. | Despite competition from AbbVie and others, Gilead has managed to capture a vast majority of the market. Discounts gave the company access, but it's been the one-pill-per-day format that has allowed it to dominate over AbbVie's Viekira Pak, which requires multiple pills per day. Sovaldi is still being used for hepatitis C patients infected with some genotypes where it can cure patients on its own, but for patients infected with hepatitis C genotype 1 virus, Harvoni doesn't require add-on shots like Sovaldi, and has naturally become the drug of choice for that genotype. | Despite competition from AbbVie and others, Gilead has managed to capture a vast majority of the market. Discounts gave the company access, but it's been the one-pill-per-day format that has allowed it to dominate over AbbVie's Viekira Pak, which requires multiple pills per day. Gilead said more hepatitis C patients were treated this quarter thanks to the excitement over Harvoni, and payers relaxing restrictions on which patients can receive the drug. | Despite competition from AbbVie and others, Gilead has managed to capture a vast majority of the market. Discounts gave the company access, but it's been the one-pill-per-day format that has allowed it to dominate over AbbVie's Viekira Pak, which requires multiple pills per day. Here's the numbers you need to know: $4.55 : Amount of Harvoni and Sovaldi sales in billions . |
26962.0 | 2015-04-30 00:00:00 UTC | Gilead Sciences Inc. Reaps a Big Q1 Harvest From Harvoni | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gilead-sciences-inc-reaps-big-q1-harvest-harvoni-2015-04-30 | nan | nan | Source: Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences provided a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy day for the broader market. The biotech announced its first-quarter results after the market closed. Shares jumped more than 3% in after-hours trading on Gilead's better-than-expected results. Here are the highlights.
By the numbers
Gilead reported first-quarter revenue of $7.6 billion, a 52% increase over the $5 billion in revenue from the same period in 2014. This figure trounced the average analysts' estimate of $6.92 billion.
GAAP first-quarter earnings for the biotech were $4.3 billion, or $2.76 per diluted share -- well above the $2.2 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share, reported for the first quarter of 2014. Gilead reported non-GAAP earnings for the quarter of $4.6 billion, or $2.94 per diluted share, compared with $2.5 billion, or $1.48 per diluted share, in the same period last year. This earnings result handily beat the consensus analyst expectation of $2.32 per share.
Operating expenses were higher, but not nearly enough to offset the surge in revenue. Gilead reported non-GAAP research and development expenses of $651 million -- a nearly 17% year-over-year increase. Non-GAAP selling, general, and administrative costs climbed 20% to $600 million during the first quarter of 2015.
Behind the numbers
Consensus expectations called for Gilead's hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi to bring in around $3.5 billion in first-quarter sales. Those expectations proved to be far too pessimistic. Harvoni generated more than $3.5 billion in sales by itself. Sovaldi kicked in another $972 million in revenue for the quarter.
Gilead's strategy with its hepatitis C drugs was to aggressively expand availability of the drug in the face of competition from AbbVie . The biotech has spent considerable effort negotiating with U.S. and European payers over the past few months. This strategy certainly appears to have paid off based on the first-quarter results.
The strong growth for Harvoni more than made up for less impressive sales for Gilead's HIV drugs. Truvada, Atripla, Stribild, Complera/Eviplera, and Viread combined for sales of $2.4 billion in the first quarter. That was nearly 9% higher than the combined sales from the same quarter last year -- a solid but not spectacular increase.
Several of Gilead's less-heralded drugs also experienced solid growth. Cardiovascular drugs Letairis and Ranexa combined for sales of $268 million, up more than 14% year over year. Meanwhile, blood-cancer drug Zydelig generated first-quarter sales of $26 million. That reflected a nearly 35% jump over the $17 million in sales from fourth quarter of 2014, Zydelig's first full quarter on the market.
Looking ahead This year now looks to hold brighter prospects than Gilead initially thought. The company upped its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $28 billion to $29 billion. Both ends of this range are $2 billion higher than the full-year projections Gilead provided last quarter. However, the biotech maintained its previous full-year earnings guidance of $0.82 to $0.87 per diluted share.
With continued strong sales for Harvoni and a price of less than 10 times forward earnings, Gilead just might regain the affection of investors in the near term. What the biotech does with its $14.5 billion (and growing) stockpile of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities could prove to be an even more significant attention-grabber over the next few months.
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The article Gilead Sciences Inc. Reaps a Big Q1 Harvest From Harvoni originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights owns shares of Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Gilead's strategy with its hepatitis C drugs was to aggressively expand availability of the drug in the face of competition from AbbVie . Behind the numbers Consensus expectations called for Gilead's hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi to bring in around $3.5 billion in first-quarter sales. With continued strong sales for Harvoni and a price of less than 10 times forward earnings, Gilead just might regain the affection of investors in the near term. | Gilead's strategy with its hepatitis C drugs was to aggressively expand availability of the drug in the face of competition from AbbVie . By the numbers Gilead reported first-quarter revenue of $7.6 billion, a 52% increase over the $5 billion in revenue from the same period in 2014. Gilead reported non-GAAP earnings for the quarter of $4.6 billion, or $2.94 per diluted share, compared with $2.5 billion, or $1.48 per diluted share, in the same period last year. | Gilead's strategy with its hepatitis C drugs was to aggressively expand availability of the drug in the face of competition from AbbVie . GAAP first-quarter earnings for the biotech were $4.3 billion, or $2.76 per diluted share -- well above the $2.2 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share, reported for the first quarter of 2014. Gilead reported non-GAAP earnings for the quarter of $4.6 billion, or $2.94 per diluted share, compared with $2.5 billion, or $1.48 per diluted share, in the same period last year. | Gilead's strategy with its hepatitis C drugs was to aggressively expand availability of the drug in the face of competition from AbbVie . Gilead reported non-GAAP earnings for the quarter of $4.6 billion, or $2.94 per diluted share, compared with $2.5 billion, or $1.48 per diluted share, in the same period last year. This earnings result handily beat the consensus analyst expectation of $2.32 per share. |
26963.0 | 2015-04-29 00:00:00 UTC | Express Scripts Issues Upbeat Outlook Despite Shifting Competitive Landscape | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/express-scripts-issues-upbeat-outlook-despite-shifting-competitive-landscape-2015-04-29 | nan | nan | The nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts Holding Company , issued a strong outlook for the second quarter in its earnings release. The company said it expects current-quarter earnings (excluding items) of $1.39 to $1.43 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters projected $1.36.
Earnings for the first quarter were in line with a consensus estimate of $1.10 per share and up from earnings of $0.99 per share reported a year ago. Revenue gained 5.1% compared with the same quarter last year, and profit was up $441.1 million, or $0.60 a share, versus a year-ago profit of $328.3 million, or $0.40 a share.
Competition ramping up from UnitedHealth
In contrast to its upbeat guidance for next quarter, Express Scripts didn't raise its outlook for the year. Adjusted claims also fell this quarter, slipping 4% to 307.6 million. Claims fell the previous quarter by 6.6%, an impact that management attributed in part to the roll-off of UnitedHealth Group claims.
In a move that will further increase its PBM heft, UnitedHealth announced that it will acquire Catamaranfor $12.8 billion. While Express Scripts will maintain its dominant position among PBMs, the consolidation turns UnitedHealth's Optum Rx division into the nation's third largest PBM, with CVSHealth Corporation retaining second place.
While the fallout from the megamerger is difficult to predict, back in 2011 it was assumed the trend would be for managed care companies to outsource their PBM operation to PBM specialists. Instead, when Express Scripts bought Medco Health for $29 billion, it faced the defection of UnitedHealth, which decided to take its PBM business in-house .
On theearnings call Express Scripts CEO George Paz talked about the changing competitive landscape and said Express Scripts intends to retain its dominant position: "As our industry evolves, and plan sponsors have more business models to choose from, it is increasingly clear that Express Scripts is the best choice to manage America's pharmacy benefits."
PBM market is rapidly expanding
One reason Express Scripts can remain sanguine about its prospects is that the overall PBM market is in great shape. All the major players in the PBM space -- Express, CVS, and UnitedHealth through Optum Rx -- have outshone the broader market index since the ACA health care-reform law came into effect.
Growth for the PBMs is being fueled by increased consumption of prescription drugs, increased generic utilization, and the shift toward mail order. In particular, pharmaceutical drug use has been increasing on both an aggregate and a per-capita basis. The trend is expected to continue, because of the prevalence of chronic disease and increased life expectancy.
How great is the projected increase? According to the 2013-2023 National Healthcare Expenditures forecast, prescription-drug spending should rise 5.4% each year from 2016-2019, and 6% annually through 2020-2023. The growth is due to a rising trend of expensive specialty drugs, as well as anticipated changing clinical guidelines designed to encourage drug therapies at earlier stages of treatment.
Hard-nosed stance on drug pricing
Express is also benefiting because rising drug prices create more value for PBM services. Big PBMs have great bargaining power against drug manufacturers, as Express Scripts showed when it effectively endedGilead Sciences ' lock on the hep-C drug market last year. Express Scripts announced that it will add AbbVie 's Viekira Pak to its National Preferred Formulary, while excluding Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni, and Johnson & Johnson 's Olysio.
Express Scripts hasn't been shy about addressing what drug targets it plans to take on next. Paz said the company was looking closely at new cholesterol drugs that target protein PCSK9, which biotechs Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Amgen are already rolling out.
"They are pretty astonishing, but they are also very expensive," Paz said. Beyond injectable cholesterol meds, cancer and diabetes drugs are other targets for Express Scripts.
Headwinds for Express Scripts
If other insurers move toward in-house PBM solutions, similar to what UnitedHealth has done with Optum Rx, the outlook won't be so rosy for the nation's largest PBM.
But while this space is consolidating, it's unlikely that other insurers will be tempted to go independent. Size really matters when it comes to getting lower drug costs for clients, and none of the other insurers could probably match the cost savings the major PBMs generate.
UnitedHealth expects to close its Catamaran transaction by the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, pending regulatory approval. While the leap of UnitedHealth to third place means Express will soon be swimming with the sharks, Express has plenty of teeth of its own, as it displayed by beating up major drugmakers to squeeze costs. And for now at least, the company doesn't appear to be flinching.
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The article Express Scripts Issues Upbeat Outlook Despite Shifting Competitive Landscape originally appeared on Fool.com.
Cheryl Swanson owns shares of Amgen,, CVS Health, and Regeneron. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Express Scripts announced that it will add AbbVie 's Viekira Pak to its National Preferred Formulary, while excluding Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni, and Johnson & Johnson 's Olysio. While Express Scripts will maintain its dominant position among PBMs, the consolidation turns UnitedHealth's Optum Rx division into the nation's third largest PBM, with CVSHealth Corporation retaining second place. All the major players in the PBM space -- Express, CVS, and UnitedHealth through Optum Rx -- have outshone the broader market index since the ACA health care-reform law came into effect. | Express Scripts announced that it will add AbbVie 's Viekira Pak to its National Preferred Formulary, while excluding Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni, and Johnson & Johnson 's Olysio. The nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts Holding Company , issued a strong outlook for the second quarter in its earnings release. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, and UnitedHealth Group. | Express Scripts announced that it will add AbbVie 's Viekira Pak to its National Preferred Formulary, while excluding Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni, and Johnson & Johnson 's Olysio. On theearnings call Express Scripts CEO George Paz talked about the changing competitive landscape and said Express Scripts intends to retain its dominant position: "As our industry evolves, and plan sponsors have more business models to choose from, it is increasingly clear that Express Scripts is the best choice to manage America's pharmacy benefits." Headwinds for Express Scripts If other insurers move toward in-house PBM solutions, similar to what UnitedHealth has done with Optum Rx, the outlook won't be so rosy for the nation's largest PBM. | Express Scripts announced that it will add AbbVie 's Viekira Pak to its National Preferred Formulary, while excluding Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni, and Johnson & Johnson 's Olysio. The nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts Holding Company , issued a strong outlook for the second quarter in its earnings release. How great is the projected increase? |
26964.0 | 2015-04-28 00:00:00 UTC | Will Gilead (GILD) Miss Q1 Earnings on Weak HCV Sales? - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/will-gilead-gild-miss-q1-earnings-on-weak-hcv-sales-analyst-blog-2015-04-28 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences Inc.GILD is scheduled to report first-quarter 2015 results on Apr 30. Gilead's earnings track record has been pretty good - last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 4.85%. The company has posted a positive earnings surprise in each of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 37.53%. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Weak Product Sales Could Affect Q1 Results
Gilead's blockbuster hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments, Sovaldi and Harvoni, are expected to continue to contribute meaningfully to the company's top line in the first quarter.
The company has, however, fallen onto some tougher times. Toward the end of last year, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts ESRX entered into an agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV adding the latter's lower-priced Viekira Pak to its formulary, as an exclusive option for HCV patients. With this move, the leading pharmacy benefit manager removed high-priced Sovaldi and Harvoni from its National Preferred Formulary.
Since then, Gilead has entered into agreements with several pharmacy benefit managers and health care service companies. It even went on to state on its fourth quarterearnings callthat it is undertaking several pricing measures including an increase in discount, charge back and rebates.
Gilead expects product sales in the range of $26-$27 billion. We could see an update on the guidance based on the first quarter performance.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Gilead is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for Gilead is 0.00% as both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $2.78.
Zacks Rank: Gilead carries a Zacks Rank #3. We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here is a health care stock that you may want to consider, as our model shows that it has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.
The Earnings ESP for Actavis ACT is +1.04% and it carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company is scheduled to release results on May 11.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Toward the end of last year, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts ESRX entered into an agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV adding the latter's lower-priced Viekira Pak to its formulary, as an exclusive option for HCV patients. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Weak Product Sales Could Affect Q1 Results Gilead's blockbuster hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments, Sovaldi and Harvoni, are expected to continue to contribute meaningfully to the company's top line in the first quarter. | Toward the end of last year, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts ESRX entered into an agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV adding the latter's lower-priced Viekira Pak to its formulary, as an exclusive option for HCV patients. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Toward the end of last year, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts ESRX entered into an agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV adding the latter's lower-priced Viekira Pak to its formulary, as an exclusive option for HCV patients. Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for Gilead is 0.00% as both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $2.78. | Toward the end of last year, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts ESRX entered into an agreement with AbbVie Inc. ABBV adding the latter's lower-priced Viekira Pak to its formulary, as an exclusive option for HCV patients. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report ACTAVIS PLC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Weak Product Sales Could Affect Q1 Results Gilead's blockbuster hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments, Sovaldi and Harvoni, are expected to continue to contribute meaningfully to the company's top line in the first quarter. |
26965.0 | 2015-04-27 00:00:00 UTC | Will Express Scripts (ESRX) Disappoint Earnings in Q1? - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/will-express-scripts-esrx-disappoint-earnings-in-q1-analyst-blog-2015-04-27 | nan | nan | Express ScriptsESRX is set to report first-quarter results on Apr 28, 2015.
Express Scripts track record was mixed in 2014 with the company beating estimates thrice in the last four quarters. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors at Play in Q1
Express Scripts is the one of the largest pharmacy benefit manager in North America. Express Scripts stands to benefit from increased generic utilization, shift towards mail orders, strong specialty growth and an aging population.Branded drugs are becoming increasingly expensive due to double-digit brand inflation, continued rise in the price of specialty drugs and overwhelming regulatory burden pushing demand for generics.
All these trends bode well for the company as they allow it to create solutions such as home delivery programs, narrow networks, restricted formularies and specialized care. Increased generic uptake and higher use of mail orders should help the company improve its margins and profitability.
We note that in Dec 2014, Express Scripts announced an update to its National Preferred Formulary, providing access to AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Viekira Pak over Gilead Sciences Inc.'s GILD treatments over favorable pricing terms.
The company currently expects earnings per share in the range of $1.07 - $1.11 in the first quarter, a sequential decline from the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the company is working to lower SG&A expenses in 2015 with better cost efficiencies and synergies as a result of integrating its back office system, continued rationalization of is footprint and decommissioning the legacy system.
What Our Model Indicates
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Express Scripts is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to be able to beat estimates. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP : The Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is -0.91%. This is because Most Accurate estimate currently stands at $1.09 while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is $1.10.
Zacks Rank : Express Scripts currently carries a Zacks Rank #3, which when combined with a negative ESP, make surprise prediction difficult.
However, we caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and #5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revision momentum.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here is one other company in the broader health care sector you may want to consider as our model shows that it has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY has an Earnings ESP of +2.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. It is scheduled to report results on Apr 28.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We note that in Dec 2014, Express Scripts announced an update to its National Preferred Formulary, providing access to AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Viekira Pak over Gilead Sciences Inc.'s GILD treatments over favorable pricing terms. Click to get this free report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. All these trends bode well for the company as they allow it to create solutions such as home delivery programs, narrow networks, restricted formularies and specialized care. | Click to get this free report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that in Dec 2014, Express Scripts announced an update to its National Preferred Formulary, providing access to AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Viekira Pak over Gilead Sciences Inc.'s GILD treatments over favorable pricing terms. Express Scripts stands to benefit from increased generic utilization, shift towards mail orders, strong specialty growth and an aging population.Branded drugs are becoming increasingly expensive due to double-digit brand inflation, continued rise in the price of specialty drugs and overwhelming regulatory burden pushing demand for generics. | Click to get this free report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that in Dec 2014, Express Scripts announced an update to its National Preferred Formulary, providing access to AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Viekira Pak over Gilead Sciences Inc.'s GILD treatments over favorable pricing terms. Zacks Rank : Express Scripts currently carries a Zacks Rank #3, which when combined with a negative ESP, make surprise prediction difficult. | Click to get this free report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that in Dec 2014, Express Scripts announced an update to its National Preferred Formulary, providing access to AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV Viekira Pak over Gilead Sciences Inc.'s GILD treatments over favorable pricing terms. Express Scripts track record was mixed in 2014 with the company beating estimates thrice in the last four quarters. |
26966.0 | 2015-04-26 00:00:00 UTC | Can You Guess Which State Won't Pay for Hepatitis C Drugs? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/can-you-guess-which-state-wont-pay-hepatitis-c-drugs-2015-04-26 | nan | nan | Hepatitis C is a serious viral infection that can cause cirrhosis and cancer of the liver and affects approximately 3.2 million people in the U.S. and 150 million people globally. Fortunately, we now have several game-changing drugs on the market, known as direct-acting antivirals, that can selectively target HCV, producing functional cure rates as high as 99% for some forms of the disease.
Source: AbbVie.
As a refresher, Viekira Pak was initially believed to be a serious rival to Gilead's drugs, perhaps even grabbing a 20% share of the market. But Gilead's decision to discount these drugs to several pharmacy benefits managers has hurt Viekira Pak's launch in a big way, forcing AbbVie to temper investors' expectations in their fourth-quarter earnings call.
Although Viekira Pak's sales have been gaining momentum since the start of the first quarter, according to data provided by Symphony Health Solutions, it's still nowhere near the Street's prior estimates based on first-quarter sales.
Specifically, Viekira Pak was once believed to have the potential to rake in over $2 billion in sales this year. Per its first-quarter number of $231 million, though, the drug is on track to miss this lofty estimate by about 40%, assuming relatively steady growth moving ahead.
Then again, this large Medicaid population opening up almost exclusively for Viekira Pak has the potential to push weekly prescription growth rates into the double-digit range on a consistent basis, meaning that sales could accelerate into the latter half of the year. In short, Viekira Pak could still surprise the naysayers and become an important revenue source for AbbVie before year's end.
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The article Can You Guess Which State Won't Pay for Hepatitis C Drugs? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | But Gilead's decision to discount these drugs to several pharmacy benefits managers has hurt Viekira Pak's launch in a big way, forcing AbbVie to temper investors' expectations in their fourth-quarter earnings call. Source: AbbVie. In short, Viekira Pak could still surprise the naysayers and become an important revenue source for AbbVie before year's end. | The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. Source: AbbVie. But Gilead's decision to discount these drugs to several pharmacy benefits managers has hurt Viekira Pak's launch in a big way, forcing AbbVie to temper investors' expectations in their fourth-quarter earnings call. | But Gilead's decision to discount these drugs to several pharmacy benefits managers has hurt Viekira Pak's launch in a big way, forcing AbbVie to temper investors' expectations in their fourth-quarter earnings call. Source: AbbVie. In short, Viekira Pak could still surprise the naysayers and become an important revenue source for AbbVie before year's end. | Source: AbbVie. But Gilead's decision to discount these drugs to several pharmacy benefits managers has hurt Viekira Pak's launch in a big way, forcing AbbVie to temper investors' expectations in their fourth-quarter earnings call. In short, Viekira Pak could still surprise the naysayers and become an important revenue source for AbbVie before year's end. |
26967.0 | 2015-04-25 00:00:00 UTC | Are Biosimilars the Next Big Thing in Biotech? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/are-biosimilars-next-big-thing-biotech-2015-04-25 | nan | nan | Biologics, or drugs developed from biological sources, have taken the pharma world by storm over the past decade or so. Five of the top 10 best-selling drugs in 2014, for example, were biologics indicated for either autoimmune disorders or cancer.
Source: Wikimedia.
The rapid rise of biologics has come from a variety of factors, including their ability to effectively control a range of debilitating diseases, their premium pricing structures, and a tendency toward a long shelf life stemming from the onerous U.S. regulatory pathway for the development and approval of generic versions known as "biosimilars".
However, a number of blockbuster biologics, worth an estimated $52 billion in global sales, are set to lose patent protection over the next five years. Biosimilar sales are thus expected to blossom from about $1.9 billion to $2.6 billion in the U.S. next year to a staggering $25 billion by 2020, representing a 7.7% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR.
That puts biologics on par with the impressive CAGR projected for the medical marijuana industry, making it one of the fastest-growing segments in healthcare in general.
With this in mind, let's consider some of the most compelling opportunities -- and biggest risks -- facing investors hoping to cash in on biosimilars.
Source: Wikimedia
Biggest risks
Although the Food and Drug Administration approved its first biosimilar with Novartis ' ZarxioTM earlier this year as a less costly replacement for Amgen 's white blood cell-boosting Neupogen, the industry still faces a highly uncertain regulatory process in the U.S. that could hinder growth going forward.
The issue at hand is that biosimilars, by the nature of their development process, cannot be exact replicas of approved biological drugs. This issue has left considerable room for pharmas to defend their star products in the patent arena, or through novel formulations or changes in delivery devices that leave biosimilar sponsors in no-man's land on the regulatory front, so to speak.
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act was signed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) in March 2010, creating a formal regulatory pathway for biosimilars. However, it took another two years for the FDA to release its long-awaited guidelines for biosimilar regulatory submissions, presumably because of the fierce pushback from pharma companies looking to protect their top brands.
What arose from this draft guidance is a complex framework in which companies can theoretically resolve patent disputes, and a stepwise approach toward demonstrating a candidate's "biosimilarity."
The problem, though, is that the originators of a biological-based medicine can alter any number of aspects of their product to frustrate copycats, such as switching from vials to autoinjectors or changing the presentation (for example, from powder to liquid), while simultaneously withdrawing older forms of the medicine from the market.
All of these defenses can be used to greatly slow a biosimilar's market uptake or dispute its "interchangeability", which is the formal term for the generic version being essentially equivalent to the original biologic. AbbVie , for instance, hopes to stave off biosimilar competition to its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2016 by upgrading its delivery device.
Aside from the regulatory hurdles, biosimilars also don't come with a huge pricing advantage compared to generics for small-molecule drugs. While generics are often priced at a discount in the 90% range from branded drugs, the high cost of bringing a biosimilar to market and producing it on a commercial scale leads to a discount of only about 20% to 30% compared to the branded version.
So, in the real world, doctors might not be as keen on prescribing knockoff versions simply for pricing reasons. The fact that biosimilars rarely take more than 30% of market share from branded drugs in Europe, where they have been commercially available since 2006, lends some credence to this notion.
Opportunities
Because biosimilars have the potential to save the U.S. healthcare system a whopping $44 billion over the the next decade, payers and regulators alike will probably continue to push for a more streamlined regulatory pathway. That's why major pharmas and biotechs such as Amgen, Merck , Pfizer (via its acquisition of Hospira), Novartis, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have all been busy building out their biosimilar pipelines, with their collective sights set primarily on big-ticket drugs such as Herceptin, Humira, and Remicade.
At the same time, a wealth of much smaller biosimilar companies have sprung up around the globe, particularly in emerging markets where the regulatory environment is far more lax than in the West.
That being said, I think investors' best opportunities reside with the bigger names. Larger players such as Amgen, Pfizer, and Novartis are undoubtedly going to help shape the regulatory environment. And they have the resources necessary to deal with the lengthy delays in regulatory filings that are certain to arise from the current FDA guidelines.
Source: Wikimedia.
If you twisted my arm regarding the best opportunity in biosimilars, though, I would have to go with Pfizer. The Hospira acquisition gives it one of the most knowledgeable and experienced teams in the space, along with a pipeline of 11 medicines across multiple therapeutic areas.
What's next?
I think biosimilars will one day be a huge growth story in pharma and biotech. But I'm not so certain that day is close at hand. Too many headwinds face sponsors in the U.S. right now, and originators have an arsenal of weapons at their disposal to lower the impact of biosimilars upon approval.
That's why I believe this area of biotech is worth keeping tabs on from an investing perspective, but it doesn't come across as nearly as promising as, say, immuno-oncology at the moment. In short, the U.S. regulatory environment needs to mature further before biosimilars can really take flight.
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The article Are Biosimilars the Next Big Thing in Biotech? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. The Motley Fool recommends Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie , for instance, hopes to stave off biosimilar competition to its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2016 by upgrading its delivery device. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. The rapid rise of biologics has come from a variety of factors, including their ability to effectively control a range of debilitating diseases, their premium pricing structures, and a tendency toward a long shelf life stemming from the onerous U.S. regulatory pathway for the development and approval of generic versions known as "biosimilars". | AbbVie , for instance, hopes to stave off biosimilar competition to its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2016 by upgrading its delivery device. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. With this in mind, let's consider some of the most compelling opportunities -- and biggest risks -- facing investors hoping to cash in on biosimilars. | AbbVie , for instance, hopes to stave off biosimilar competition to its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2016 by upgrading its delivery device. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. The rapid rise of biologics has come from a variety of factors, including their ability to effectively control a range of debilitating diseases, their premium pricing structures, and a tendency toward a long shelf life stemming from the onerous U.S. regulatory pathway for the development and approval of generic versions known as "biosimilars". | AbbVie , for instance, hopes to stave off biosimilar competition to its flagship anti-inflammatory drug Humira in 2016 by upgrading its delivery device. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie. However, it took another two years for the FDA to release its long-awaited guidelines for biosimilar regulatory submissions, presumably because of the fierce pushback from pharma companies looking to protect their top brands. |
26968.0 | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC | Merck Reports Encouraging Data on HCV Combo Candidate - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/merck-reports-encouraging-data-on-hcv-combo-candidate-analyst-blog-2015-04-24 | nan | nan | Merck & Co. Inc.MRK reported encouraging data from an ongoing pivotal (C-EDGE) phase III program evaluating its once-daily combination regimen - grazoprevir (NS3/4A proteaseinhibitor)/elbasvir (NS5A replication complex inhibitor) - in patients with or without cirrhosis who are infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1, 4 or 6.
In the phase III program, patients in both the HCV infected, treatment-naïve (C-EDGE TN), and HIV/HCV co-infected, treatment-naïve (C-EDGE CO-INFXN) trials treated for 12 weeks achieved rates of sustained virologic response 12 weeks after the completion of treatment (SVR12) of 95%. Meanwhile, HCV infected, treatment-experienced patients (C-EDGE TE) who received grazoprevir/elbasvir with or without ribavirin for 12 weeks achieved SVR12 rates of 94% and 92%, respectively.
Merck remains on track to file a new drug application for grazoprevir/elbasvir in the first half of 2015.
Earlier this week Merck announced data from an ongoing phase II/III (C-SURFER) study evaluating the grazoprevir/elbasvir combination in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) infected with chronic HCV genotype 1. After 12 weeks, 99% of patients on grazoprevir/elbasvir in the pre-specified primary population for analysis of efficacy data achieved SVR12.
We remind investors that the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to grazoprevir/elbasvir for the treatment of patients suffering from chronic HCV genotype 4 infection and chronic HCV genotype 1 infection with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis.
We are pleased with Merck's efforts to build its HCV product portfolio. We note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak.
Merck holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Biogen BIIB is a better-ranked stock in the health care space carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak. Click to get this free report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Merck & Co. Inc.MRK reported encouraging data from an ongoing pivotal (C-EDGE) phase III program evaluating its once-daily combination regimen - grazoprevir (NS3/4A proteaseinhibitor)/elbasvir (NS5A replication complex inhibitor) - in patients with or without cirrhosis who are infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1, 4 or 6. | Click to get this free report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak. Earlier this week Merck announced data from an ongoing phase II/III (C-SURFER) study evaluating the grazoprevir/elbasvir combination in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) infected with chronic HCV genotype 1. | Click to get this free report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak. Merck & Co. Inc.MRK reported encouraging data from an ongoing pivotal (C-EDGE) phase III program evaluating its once-daily combination regimen - grazoprevir (NS3/4A proteaseinhibitor)/elbasvir (NS5A replication complex inhibitor) - in patients with or without cirrhosis who are infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1, 4 or 6. | Click to get this free report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak. After 12 weeks, 99% of patients on grazoprevir/elbasvir in the pre-specified primary population for analysis of efficacy data achieved SVR12. |
26969.0 | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie's HCV Cocktail Treatment Under FDA Priority Review - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvies-hcv-cocktail-treatment-under-fda-priority-review-analyst-blog-2015-04-24 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc.ABBV received encouraging news with the FDA granting priority review to the company's new drug application (NDA) for its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment - an all-oral, interferon-free, two direct-acting, antiviral treatment comprising ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) in combination with ribavirin (RBV).
The company is looking to get the combination approved for the treatment of adults suffering from chronic genotype 4 (GT4) HCV infection making it the first all-oral, interferon-free therapy to be evaluated by the FDA for this indication .
The NDA was based on positive data from a phase IIb study (PEARL-I) which showed that patients when treated with this combination achieved up to 100% sustained virologic response rates at 12 weeks post-treatment with no discontinuations being reported due to adverse events.
We note that the FDA grants priority review status to candidates which have the potential to bring significant improvements in terms of safety or effectiveness in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of serious diseases when compared to currently available therapies. Priority review means the FDA will provide a response on the approval status of the candidate within six months of receiving the regulatory application instead of the usual 10 months. The FDA had also granted Breakthrough Therapy status to the combination in Jun 2014.
We believe that the regimen has a good chance of gaining approval based on high rates of response and no discontinuation rates.
Meanwhile, Abbvie's recently launched HCV drug, Viekira, recorded global sales of $231 million in the first quarter of 2015, up from $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Though initial sales have been encouraging, we note that competition in the HCV market is intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni. Many other companies including Merck MRK are looking to bring their HCV treatments to market.
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AVEO carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV received encouraging news with the FDA granting priority review to the company's new drug application (NDA) for its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment - an all-oral, interferon-free, two direct-acting, antiviral treatment comprising ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) in combination with ribavirin (RBV). Meanwhile, Abbvie's recently launched HCV drug, Viekira, recorded global sales of $231 million in the first quarter of 2015, up from $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). | AbbVie Inc.ABBV received encouraging news with the FDA granting priority review to the company's new drug application (NDA) for its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment - an all-oral, interferon-free, two direct-acting, antiviral treatment comprising ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) in combination with ribavirin (RBV). Click to get this free report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report AVEO PHARMACEUT (AVEO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Meanwhile, Abbvie's recently launched HCV drug, Viekira, recorded global sales of $231 million in the first quarter of 2015, up from $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV received encouraging news with the FDA granting priority review to the company's new drug application (NDA) for its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment - an all-oral, interferon-free, two direct-acting, antiviral treatment comprising ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) in combination with ribavirin (RBV). Click to get this free report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report AVEO PHARMACEUT (AVEO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Meanwhile, Abbvie's recently launched HCV drug, Viekira, recorded global sales of $231 million in the first quarter of 2015, up from $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. | AbbVie Inc.ABBV received encouraging news with the FDA granting priority review to the company's new drug application (NDA) for its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment - an all-oral, interferon-free, two direct-acting, antiviral treatment comprising ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) in combination with ribavirin (RBV). Meanwhile, Abbvie's recently launched HCV drug, Viekira, recorded global sales of $231 million in the first quarter of 2015, up from $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). |
26970.0 | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC | Humira Propels AbbVie Inc. to a Solid First Quarter | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/humira-propels-abbvie-inc-solid-first-quarter-2015-04-23 | nan | nan | Source: AbbVie.
This year has been somewhat lackluster so far for AbbVie shareholders. The stock was down as much as 15% before regaining some momentum in recent weeks. The drugmaker announced first-quarter financial results before the market opened on Thursday. Is AbbVie now on track to provide more sizzle for investors?
By the numbers
While AbbVie's stock dropped by over 1% in early trading, the company seems to be heading in the right direction. AbbVie announced first-quarter generally accepted accounting principles sales of $5.04 billion, up 10.5% year over year. On an operational basis, which excludes the impact of currency fluctuations, revenue increased 17.8% from the same period in the prior year. Analysts were expecting revenue of $4.98 billion.
Earnings came in at $1.022 billion, or $0.63 per diluted share on a GAAP basis. Non-GAAP earnings were $0.94 per diluted share, a 32.4% increase from the same quarter last year. The consensus analysts' estimate called for earnings of $0.85 per share.
Source: AbbVie.
AbbVie again reported a solid gross margin, with a first-quarter adjusted gross margin ratio of 82.9% and a GAAP gross margin ratio of 81.3%. Adjusted selling, general, and administrative expenses consumed 26.7% of sales during the first quarter, while adjusted research and development expenses comprised 16.1% of sales. On a GAAP basis, AbbVie reported SG&A expenses of 29.2% of sales and R&D expenses of 16.1% of sales.
Behind the numbers
Humira continued to be Abbvie's primary revenue driver. The anti-inflammatory drug generated revenue of $3.111 billion in the first quarter, up 18% from the same period last year. Its operational year-over-year growth was 26%.
AbbVie achieved similar rates of growth from a couple other drugs. Sales of Synthroid during the first quarter totaled $186 million, while Creon sales came in at $127 million. Both figures reflected increases of 18.8% from the first quarter of 2014.
The company also reported solid sales of its new hepatitis C regimen, Viekira Pak, which racked up revenue of $231 million in its first full quarter on the market. AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez noted the company "continued to gain momentum with the launch" of the new drug.
Looking ahead
Based on the strong start in the first quarter, AbbVie raised its full-year earnings guidance. The company now expects adjusted earnings between $4.10 and $4.30 per diluted share. That's up from the previous range of $4.05-$4.25 per share.
The pending acquisition of Pharmacyclics , expected to close in the next couple months, should be key to AbbVie's future. AbbVie will gain Imbruvica, Pharmacyclics' enormously successful blood cancer drug, along with a handful of other drugs in the pipeline.
AbbVie's main product will remain blockbuster Humira, which shows no signs of losing much momentum. With the rise of Viekira Pak and the acquisition of Imbruvica, however, Humira should lose some share of the company's total revenue.
Dividend growth, another plus for AbbVie's shareholders, also shows no signs of losing steam. In February, the company's board of directors increased AbbVie's dividend by 4%. The forward dividend yield now stands at 3.3%. Since the company's creation in 2013, AbbVie has raised its dividend payout by 28%. This strong dividend growth seems likely to continue in the days ahead with the solid performance AbbVie achieved in the first quarter.
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The article Humira Propels AbbVie Inc. to a Solid First Quarter originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Source: AbbVie. This strong dividend growth seems likely to continue in the days ahead with the solid performance AbbVie achieved in the first quarter. Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes da The article Humira Propels AbbVie Inc. to a Solid First Quarter originally appeared on Fool.com. | Source: AbbVie. AbbVie again reported a solid gross margin, with a first-quarter adjusted gross margin ratio of 82.9% and a GAAP gross margin ratio of 81.3%. This strong dividend growth seems likely to continue in the days ahead with the solid performance AbbVie achieved in the first quarter. | Source: AbbVie. AbbVie announced first-quarter generally accepted accounting principles sales of $5.04 billion, up 10.5% year over year. On a GAAP basis, AbbVie reported SG&A expenses of 29.2% of sales and R&D expenses of 16.1% of sales. | Source: AbbVie. AbbVie announced first-quarter generally accepted accounting principles sales of $5.04 billion, up 10.5% year over year. This year has been somewhat lackluster so far for AbbVie shareholders. |
26971.0 | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie (ABBV) Tops 1Q Earnings and Revenue Estimates - Tale of the Tape | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-abbv-tops-1q-earnings-and-revenue-estimates-tale-of-the-tape-2015-04-23 | nan | nan | North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie ( ABBV ), which has been in the news thanks to its hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment Viekira Pak, is best known for its autoimmune disease drug, Humira.
Humira, the company's flagship product which is approved for a wide range of indications, is a major contributor to AbbVie's top line. While Humira will remain the key growth driver at AbbVie, the coming quarters will see investor focus remaining primarily on the initial response to the Viekira Pak launch. Key players in the HCV market include Gilead's (GILD) Sovaldi and Harvoni.
Meanwhile, AbbVie is looking to acquire Pharmacyclics (PCYC) in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion. This acquisition, slated to go through in the second quarter, will diversify the company's product portfolio with the addition of Imbruvica.
ABBV has a pretty good earnings track record with the company delivering positive earnings surprises all throughout 2014 with an average surprise of 8.15%. Estimate revisions are mostly downwards with analysts lowering their estimates for 2015.
Currently, ABBV has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company's earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings Beat: ABBV beat on first quarter earnings by a wide margin. Our consensus called for EPS of 84 cents, and the company reported EPS of 94 cents.
Revenues Beat: AbbVie posted revenues of $5.04 billion, surpassing consensus estimates of $4.98 billion.
Key Stats: Humira once again boosted the top line with sales coming in at $3.1 billion. Newly launched Viekira Pak delivered sales of $231 million, up from $48 million reported in the previous quarter.
ABBV raised its guidance for 2015 - the company now expects earnings in the range of $4.10 to $4.30 per share, up from the earlier range of $4.05 - $4.25. This includes the 20 cent dilution related to the upcoming Pharmacyclics acquisition. The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently stands at $4.23 per share.
Stock Price: Shares are up (2.26%) in pre-market trading following the release.
Check back later for our full write up on this ABBV earnings report later!
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie ( ABBV ), which has been in the news thanks to its hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment Viekira Pak, is best known for its autoimmune disease drug, Humira. Humira, the company's flagship product which is approved for a wide range of indications, is a major contributor to AbbVie's top line. While Humira will remain the key growth driver at AbbVie, the coming quarters will see investor focus remaining primarily on the initial response to the Viekira Pak launch. | Revenues Beat: AbbVie posted revenues of $5.04 billion, surpassing consensus estimates of $4.98 billion. North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie ( ABBV ), which has been in the news thanks to its hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment Viekira Pak, is best known for its autoimmune disease drug, Humira. Humira, the company's flagship product which is approved for a wide range of indications, is a major contributor to AbbVie's top line. | Currently, ABBV has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company's earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below: Earnings Beat: ABBV beat on first quarter earnings by a wide margin. Click to get this free report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. | While Humira will remain the key growth driver at AbbVie, the coming quarters will see investor focus remaining primarily on the initial response to the Viekira Pak launch. North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie ( ABBV ), which has been in the news thanks to its hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment Viekira Pak, is best known for its autoimmune disease drug, Humira. Humira, the company's flagship product which is approved for a wide range of indications, is a major contributor to AbbVie's top line. |
26972.0 | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC | 5 Things UnitedHealth Wants You to Know | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/5-things-unitedhealth-wants-you-know-2015-04-23 | nan | nan | UnitedHealth 's latest earnings were so stellar that CEO Stephen Hemsley put on his happy face during the health insurer's recentearnings call In fact, UnitedHealth's usually dour and terse CEO was so consistently upbeat he used the word "growth" a dozen times, ascribing "growth" to everything from the company's commercial business to Optum Care and OptumRx.
Hemsley also tossed a juicy bone to Wall Street's UnitedHealth bulls, advancing guidance to an almost torrid 10% year-over-year pace. Specifically, Hemsley projected "a $2 billion increase over earlier projections." The hike means management expects revenue to reach $143 billion this year -- which, for some context, is about the size of New Zealand's entire GDP.
It wasn't all sweetness and light, however. Here are five key points investors should know, including how UnitedHealth responded to several hot-button topics that threaten that projected growth .
1. Catamaran acquisition was all about creating a top-tier PBM
Optum CEO Larry Renfro quickly laid out UnitedHealth's rationale for its recent $12.8 billion acquisition of Illinois-based pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. . " The reason we bought and entered into this combination with Catamaran was because we needed scale," he said.
Assuming the acquisition goes through, "scale" is a done deal. UnitedHealth already owns the industry's third-largest PBM with its in-house OptumRx unit. Catamaran, by contrast, is the fourth-largest PBM by volume of prescriptions processed. After the merger, UnitedHealth will be neck-and-neck with CVS Health , which covers 65 million plan members , for No. 2. By comparison, top dog Express Scripts covers 90 million.
2. We're upping our game in negotiating drug prices
In the U.S., prescription drug spending rose more than 12% last year, the biggest annual increase in more than a decade. And that was despite both Express Scripts and CVS slashing prices from hepatitis C-drug makers AbbVie and Gilead Sciences , respectively.
UnitedHealth has made it clear it will increasingly take a very tough stance on drug pricing. Aiding its efforts, the company is a payer-insurer, as well as a PBM, which gives it a uniquely powerful position. As a PBM, UnitedHealth can negotiate pricing up front. As an insurer, it can establish controls on who uses the drugs, as well as track follow-through results, including actual health benefits.
UnitedHealth's Optum holds some of the most sophisticated tools in the U.S. for analyzing the impact of specific drugs on overall population health from a cost-benefit perspective. It gives UnitedHealth a platform for not only knowing how and where patients consume medical resources, but also morbidity profiles and synthesizing information into cost and performance data.
Pharmacy benefit managers don't trumpet in advance how and when they plan to negotiate price deals, but Renfro acknowledged that the goal of the merger was to "create a competitively scaled channel-agnostic PBM."
"Channel-agnostic" was a term coined by J.C. Penney management in 2011. It's business buzz-speak for "we don't care who we make deals with, we're going to get the best prices for our customers." Timothy Wicks, OptumRx's CEO, added, "We are agnostic to ... site-of care as well, and we will drive it to the best place of care for the consumer."
3. Expect a war against megapriced drugs
Obviously, specialty pharma is "a very, very important aspect of going forward," Hemsley said. Specialty pharma includes any drugs that cost $600 or more a month, and there's no doubt this is a hot-button issue.
UnitedHealth faces a significant risk here, since specialty drug pricing threatens to take a big whack out of insurers' profitability. Specialty drugs now account for 25% of U.S. insurers' total pharmacy spending. But that percentage is expected to double to 50% by 2018, according to healthcare analytics company Artemetrx . UnitedHealth projects specialty drugs could quadruple to $400 billion, or 9.1% of national health spending, by 2020.
"As specialty pharma emerges," Renfro said, "it really is a tremendous opportunity for us to distinguish ourselves. The cost of that category is such that it would be hard for us to believe that the customer community as well as the consultant community will not be sensitized to that category of cost."
There's more than one way to skin a cat, and Renfro pointed out that Optum recently teamed up with Yale University "as a partner." He added, "Research from the (Yale-UnitedHealth) lab has now been accepted for publication by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the British Medical Journal ."
In other words, UnitedHealth has yet another arrow in its quiver with which to skewer drug companies. Going forward, it will not only negotiate pricing, it will finance research publicizing whether those prices are justified based on clinical benefits.
4. Feared increased utilization is not materializing
Meanwhile, UnitedHealth's medical costs are holding the line. This was a pleasant surprise to Wall Street, as the company's stock price took a hit when hospital administrator HCA Holdings pre-announced strong admission numbers. When asked about this in the Q&A session, CFO Dan Schumacher said he expected an increase in utilization of medical care. But, "I'll tell you in the first quarter there have not been any acceleration."
5. No plans to alter yearly dividend increases, but buyback is another story
Dividend investors can breathe a sigh of relief, as CEO Hemsley clearly intends to keep the dividend hikes coming: "We expect to maintain our approach to advancing our dividend to more market based levels, exactly as we have discussed this area of capital allocation with you previously, no changes are contemplated in that respect." [italics added]
When asked about cutting back on share repurchases to keep net debt low after the Catamaran purchase, he took a different slant. "We think (acquiring Catamaran) was a very good use of capital... and we expect that contribution to grow... much more than would a share buyback."
Management offered no comments about the impact of a Supreme Court ruling expected this June that could upend healthcare insurers .
To sum up, Stephen Hemsley went back to his favorite new word -- growth: "The story is really again about growth, growth in the revenues, earnings, based on more consistent performance for customers, growth in the number of people we partner with and serve across the health care system. And growth in the scope and diversity of our businesses."
That's about all they said, folks. See you next quarter.
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The article 5 Things UnitedHealth Wants You to Know originally appeared on Fool.com.
Cheryl Swanson has a position in CVS. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | And that was despite both Express Scripts and CVS slashing prices from hepatitis C-drug makers AbbVie and Gilead Sciences , respectively. Pharmacy benefit managers don't trumpet in advance how and when they plan to negotiate price deals, but Renfro acknowledged that the goal of the merger was to "create a competitively scaled channel-agnostic PBM." This was a pleasant surprise to Wall Street, as the company's stock price took a hit when hospital administrator HCA Holdings pre-announced strong admission numbers. | And that was despite both Express Scripts and CVS slashing prices from hepatitis C-drug makers AbbVie and Gilead Sciences , respectively. Catamaran acquisition was all about creating a top-tier PBM Optum CEO Larry Renfro quickly laid out UnitedHealth's rationale for its recent $12.8 billion acquisition of Illinois-based pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. . " The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and UnitedHealth Group. | And that was despite both Express Scripts and CVS slashing prices from hepatitis C-drug makers AbbVie and Gilead Sciences , respectively. UnitedHealth 's latest earnings were so stellar that CEO Stephen Hemsley put on his happy face during the health insurer's recentearnings call In fact, UnitedHealth's usually dour and terse CEO was so consistently upbeat he used the word "growth" a dozen times, ascribing "growth" to everything from the company's commercial business to Optum Care and OptumRx. Catamaran acquisition was all about creating a top-tier PBM Optum CEO Larry Renfro quickly laid out UnitedHealth's rationale for its recent $12.8 billion acquisition of Illinois-based pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. . " | And that was despite both Express Scripts and CVS slashing prices from hepatitis C-drug makers AbbVie and Gilead Sciences , respectively. As a PBM, UnitedHealth can negotiate pricing up front. Specialty pharma includes any drugs that cost $600 or more a month, and there's no doubt this is a hot-button issue. |
26973.0 | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC | Gilead (GILD) Announces Encouraging Data on its HCV Drugs - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/gilead-gild-announces-encouraging-data-on-its-hcv-drugs-analyst-blog-2015-04-23 | nan | nan | Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD announced encouraging data from several phase II studies evaluating hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug Harvoni and other Sovaldi-based regimens in HCV infected patients with advanced liver disease, including patients with decompensated cirrhosis, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis C and portal hypertension.
Data from these studies will be presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
We note that both Harvoni and Sovaldi are approved in the U.S. for the treatment of chronic HCV infection. While Harvoni is indicated for patients with genotype 1, Sovaldi is used in combination with other agents and its efficacy has been established in patients with genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Meanwhile, the company also announced impressive data from pre-clinical, phase I and phase II studies. Data from the studies support the ongoing development of GS-9857. These data also show a potential for an all-oral, triple combination therapy containing Sovaldi, GS-5816 and GS-9857, which could further reduce treatment duration for HCV patients.
We are pleased with the impressive data on HCV candidates. HCV is one of the key focus areas at Gilead. The company has entered into agreements with several pharmacy benefit managers and health care service companies for its HCV drugs. The company is also undertaking several pricing measures including an increase in discount, charge back and rebates.
The HCV market has several approved drugs like AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak and Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Olysio.
Gilead holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Biogen BIIB is a better-ranked stock in the health care space carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | The HCV market has several approved drugs like AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak and Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Olysio. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD announced encouraging data from several phase II studies evaluating hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug Harvoni and other Sovaldi-based regimens in HCV infected patients with advanced liver disease, including patients with decompensated cirrhosis, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis C and portal hypertension. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The HCV market has several approved drugs like AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak and Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Olysio. Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD announced encouraging data from several phase II studies evaluating hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug Harvoni and other Sovaldi-based regimens in HCV infected patients with advanced liver disease, including patients with decompensated cirrhosis, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis C and portal hypertension. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The HCV market has several approved drugs like AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak and Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Olysio. Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD announced encouraging data from several phase II studies evaluating hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug Harvoni and other Sovaldi-based regimens in HCV infected patients with advanced liver disease, including patients with decompensated cirrhosis, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis C and portal hypertension. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The HCV market has several approved drugs like AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak and Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Olysio. Meanwhile, the company also announced impressive data from pre-clinical, phase I and phase II studies. |
26974.0 | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC | Pre-Market Earnings Report for April 23, 2015 : PG, PEP, MMM, MO, ABBV, UNP, LLY, DHR, GM, DOW, CAT, ERIC | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/pre-market-earnings-report-april-23-2015-pg-pep-mmm-mo-abbv-unp-lly-dhr-gm-dow-cat-eric | nan | nan | The following companies are expected to report earnings prior to market open on 04/23/2015. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases.
Procter & Gamble Company ( PG ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The cleaning company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 13 analysts that follow the stock is $0.92. This value represents a 11.54% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. PG missed the consensus earnings per share in the 3rd calendar quarter of 2014 by -0.93%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for PG is 20.87 vs. an industry ratio of 20.30, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Pepsico, Inc. ( PEP ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The beverages company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $0.79. This value represents a 4.82% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year PEP has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 4th calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 3.7%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for PEP is 20.77 vs. an industry ratio of 12.90, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
3M Company ( MMM ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The diversified operations company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 10 analysts that follow the stock is $1.92. This value represents a 7.26% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year MMM has met analyst expectations twice and beat the expectations the other two quarters. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for MMM is 20.07 vs. an industry ratio of 23.90.
Altria Group ( MO ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The tobacco company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 7 analysts that follow the stock is $0.62. This value represents a 8.77% increase compared to the same quarter last year. MO missed the consensus earnings per share in the 4th calendar quarter of 2014 by -1.49%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for MO is 18.61 vs. an industry ratio of 23.80.
AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The large cap pharmaceutical company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 7 analysts that follow the stock is $0.84. This value represents a 16.67% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year ABBV has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 4th calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 4.71%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for ABBV is 14.83 vs. an industry ratio of 21.30.
Union Pacific Corporation ( UNP ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The transportation (rail) company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 13 analysts that follow the stock is $1.37. This value represents a 15.13% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year UNP has met analyst expectations once and beat the expectations the other three quarters. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for UNP is 16.90 vs. an industry ratio of 21.90.
Eli Lilly and Company ( LLY ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The large cap pharmaceutical company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 7 analysts that follow the stock is $0.76. This value represents a 8.57% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year LLY has met analyst expectations twice and beat the expectations the other two quarters. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for LLY is 22.92 vs. an industry ratio of 21.30, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Danaher Corporation ( DHR ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The diversified operations company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $0.93. This value represents a 14.81% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year DHR has met analyst expectations twice and beat the expectations the other two quarters. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for DHR is 19.54 vs. an industry ratio of 23.90.
General Motors Company ( GM ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The auto (domestic) company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $0.96. This value represents a 231.03% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for GM is 7.99 vs. an industry ratio of -93.50, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Dow Chemical Company ( DOW ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The chemical company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 12 analysts that follow the stock is $0.78. This value represents a 1.27% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year DOW has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 4th calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 25%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for DOW is 17.18 vs. an industry ratio of 16.90, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Caterpillar, Inc. ( CAT ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The machinery company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 13 analysts that follow the stock is $1.36. This value represents a 15.53% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. CAT missed the consensus earnings per share in the 4th calendar quarter of 2014 by -12.9%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for CAT is 17.86 vs. an industry ratio of 16.00, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Ericsson ( ERIC ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. The wireless equipment company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 3 analysts that follow the stock is $0.13. This value represents a 7.14% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for ERIC is 18.01 vs. an industry ratio of -4.80, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. In the past year ABBV has beat the expectations every quarter. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for ABBV is 14.83 vs. an industry ratio of 21.30. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. In the past year ABBV has beat the expectations every quarter. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for ABBV is 14.83 vs. an industry ratio of 21.30. | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. In the past year ABBV has beat the expectations every quarter. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for ABBV is 14.83 vs. an industry ratio of 21.30. | In the past year ABBV has beat the expectations every quarter. AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2015. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price to Earnings ratio for ABBV is 14.83 vs. an industry ratio of 21.30. |
26975.0 | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC | Bulls chase AbbVie into earnings | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/bulls-chase-abbvie-earnings-2015-04-21 | nan | nan | AbbVie is running into Thursday's earnings report, and the bulls are in hot pursuit.
optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring program detected at least two large strategies that will benefit from further upside in the drug maker. The first transaction occurred just minutes after the opening bell as 2,700 May 64 calls were bought for $2.15 and matching numbers of the May 62.50 puts and May 70 calls were sold for $1.48 and $0.40, respectively.
The investor now stands collect $6, or 21 times their $0.27 initial outlay, if ABBV closes at $70 or higher on expiration. He or she is also on the hook to buy shares if they close under $62.50, so there is downside risk. (See our Education section for more on buying calls and selling puts .)
ABBV is down 0.36 percent to $63.31 in afternoon trading and is up 8 percent so far this month. It touched an all-time high of $70.76 in December, then rolled over and briefly dipped below $55 in March after investors judged that it overpaid for cancer-drug company Pharmacyclics.
At least two other drug makers have rallied following trades like this morning's complex strategy in ABBV. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, for instance, appeared on the Heat Seeker with increasing regularity six weeks ago before launching to new highs. Mylan , both a potential acquirer and target, has also given our premium subscribers massive profits after July 50 puts were sold and July 70 calls were bought earlier this month.
The second bullish trade appeared in ABBV later in the morning. This time, 8,350 May 67 calls were bought for $0.75 at the same time 6,233 May 62.50s were sold for $2.30. Volume was below open interest at the lower strike, which indicates an existing position was rolled up and increased in size. The transaction yielded a credit of $807,000 and keeps the investor exposed to further gains in the share price.
Overall option volume is twice the daily average in the name so far today. Calls account for a bullish two-thirds of the total.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie is running into Thursday's earnings report, and the bulls are in hot pursuit. The investor now stands collect $6, or 21 times their $0.27 initial outlay, if ABBV closes at $70 or higher on expiration. ABBV is down 0.36 percent to $63.31 in afternoon trading and is up 8 percent so far this month. | The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. AbbVie is running into Thursday's earnings report, and the bulls are in hot pursuit. The investor now stands collect $6, or 21 times their $0.27 initial outlay, if ABBV closes at $70 or higher on expiration. | AbbVie is running into Thursday's earnings report, and the bulls are in hot pursuit. The investor now stands collect $6, or 21 times their $0.27 initial outlay, if ABBV closes at $70 or higher on expiration. ABBV is down 0.36 percent to $63.31 in afternoon trading and is up 8 percent so far this month. | The second bullish trade appeared in ABBV later in the morning. AbbVie is running into Thursday's earnings report, and the bulls are in hot pursuit. The investor now stands collect $6, or 21 times their $0.27 initial outlay, if ABBV closes at $70 or higher on expiration. |
26976.0 | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC | Pharmacyclics Announces Positive Results on Imbruvica - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/pharmacyclics-announces-positive-results-on-imbruvica-analyst-blog-2015-04-21 | nan | nan | Pharmacyclics, Inc.PCYC announced positive long-term follow-up data on Imbruvica in treatment-naive and relapsed/refractory patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
The results are analysis of outcomes from the phase I/IIb study (PCYC-1102) and the ongoing extension study (PCYC-1103). Results revealed that patients receiving Imbruvica (420 mg) experienced a 91% overall response rate while 14% of the patients achieved a complete response. Data also revealed early and sustained improvement in hemoglobin and platelet counts.
The results were presented at the annual meeting of American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).
In a separate press release, the company announced that Imbruvica was effective in the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma as far as results from a transgenic mouse model and an in-vivo model of patient-derived xenograft mice (grafts of tissue taken from a pancreatic cancer patient and grafted into a mouse) are concerned. These results were also presented at the AACR annual meeting.
We note that Pharmacyclics has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson JNJ for Imbruvica. While Johnson & Johnson markets Imbruvica in ex-U.S. territories, the two companies jointly commercialize Imbruvica in the U.S. Imbruvica is Pharmacyclics' sole marketed product. The product gained FDA approval in January this year for all lines of therapy for the treatment of patients suffering from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. This made Imbruvica the first and only FDA approved treatment for this indication.
Imbruvica is also approved for three other indications, including treatment of patients suffering from mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and CLL who have received at least one previous therapy and for CLL patients with a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17.
In 2014, Pharmacyclics recorded U.S. Imbruvica net product revenues of $492 million. For 2015, the company expects Imbruvica U.S. net product revenues to be approximately $1 billion. The increase is expected to be driven by higher market penetration of the four approved indications.
The drug is also being developed for other indications like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. The deal, valued at approximately $21 billion, is expected to close in mid-2015. We expect investor focus to stay on this news.
Pharmacyclics has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care space is Biogen Inc. BIIB carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. Click to get this free report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. In a separate press release, the company announced that Imbruvica was effective in the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma as far as results from a transgenic mouse model and an in-vivo model of patient-derived xenograft mice (grafts of tissue taken from a pancreatic cancer patient and grafted into a mouse) are concerned. | Click to get this free report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. For 2015, the company expects Imbruvica U.S. net product revenues to be approximately $1 billion. | Click to get this free report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. While Johnson & Johnson markets Imbruvica in ex-U.S. territories, the two companies jointly commercialize Imbruvica in the U.S. Imbruvica is Pharmacyclics' sole marketed product. | Click to get this free report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Pharmacyclics is getting acquired by AbbVie ABBV as per an agreement entered in March this year. While Johnson & Johnson markets Imbruvica in ex-U.S. territories, the two companies jointly commercialize Imbruvica in the U.S. Imbruvica is Pharmacyclics' sole marketed product. |
26977.0 | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC | Will Alexion's (ALXN) Soliris Drive Q1 Earnings Beat? - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/will-alexions-alxn-soliris-drive-q1-earnings-beat-analyst-blog-2015-04-21 | nan | nan | Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ALXN is scheduled to report first-quarter 2015 earnings results on Apr 23, before the opening bell.
The company has posted positive earnings surprises in two of the trailing four quarters. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Soliris Could Drive Q1 Results
Soliris, Alexion's sole marketed product, is expected to continue performing well for its approved indications - paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome - thereby driving top-line growth. The company is expected to add new patients in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
Increased operating costs will however hurt the bottom line in the first quarter. While research & development costs are expected to increase due to the company's efforts to develop its pipeline, selling, general and administrative expenses should increase on Alexion's efforts to expand. Meanwhile, the first quarter is likely to witness foreign exchange headwinds.
Though increased operating costs are expected to hurt Alexion's bottom line in the first quarter, the long-term growth prospects are encouraging. The successful development and subsequent commercialization of the pipeline will not only boost the company's top line but also reduce its dependence on a single product for growth.
We believe that investor focus will remain on updates on the performance of Soliris. Investors are also looking forward to updates on the company's 2015 outlook.
What Our Model Indicates
Our proven model does not conclusively shows that Alexion is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to likely post an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is +4.24%.
Zacks Rank: Alexion currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and #5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revision momentum.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are some health care stocks that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.
ImmunoGen, Inc. IMGN has an Earnings ESP of +32% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. It is scheduled to report results on Apr 24.
The Earnings ESP for Biogen BIIB is +0.51% and it sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company is also scheduled to release results on Apr 24.
AbbVie Inc. ABBV has an Earnings ESP of +1.19% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. It is scheduled to report results on Apr 23.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie Inc. ABBV has an Earnings ESP of +1.19% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ALXN is scheduled to report first-quarter 2015 earnings results on Apr 23, before the opening bell. | Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc. ABBV has an Earnings ESP of +1.19% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. While research & development costs are expected to increase due to the company's efforts to develop its pipeline, selling, general and administrative expenses should increase on Alexion's efforts to expand. | Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie Inc. ABBV has an Earnings ESP of +1.19% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to likely post an earnings beat. | AbbVie Inc. ABBV has an Earnings ESP of +1.19% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. Click to get this free report ALEXION PHARMA (ALXN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report IMMUNOGEN INC (IMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to likely post an earnings beat. |
26978.0 | 2015-04-20 00:00:00 UTC | Double-Digit Spike in Drug Costs Prescribes Profits for PBMs | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/double-digit-spike-drug-costs-prescribes-profits-pbms-2015-04-20 | nan | nan | The spike in employer spending on prescription drugs is now forecast to jump around 10% for the next three years, according to a new report that puts pressure on companies to dramatically alter pharmacy benefits.
And while that's bad news for workers, employers, and taxpayers picking up the tab for rising drug costs, it's good news for pharmacy benefit management companies, also known as PBMs, and their stocks, which have been captivating investor attention lately. These companies are essentially the middlemen between drug manufacturers and employers when it comes to purchasing prescription pharmaceuticals. PBMs wrench discounts from drugmakers, buying them in volume for their employer and government health-plan clients. Rising drug costs mean good things for PBMs going forward and their stock prices.
Aon Hewitt , the large employee benefits consulting and outsourcing firm, says in a new report that U.S. pharmacy costs for active employees and retirees are expected to increase 9.5% this year. The trend is expected to continue, with Aon Hewitt projecting a 10% increase in 2016 and a "similar rate increase in 2017," the benefits consultancy said.
"Medical cost increases over the past few years have offset some of the higher pharmacy costs in the short term, but for 2015 and 2016, there will be more pressure than relief on pharmacy cost," Tim Nimmer, global chief actuary for the firm's Aon Health unit, said in a statement accompanying the report.
"This is primarily due to high price inflation for brand and specialty drugs, a slowdown in blockbuster drugs losing patent protection, generic dispensing rates leveling off, and the robust pipeline of specialty drugs including the new Hepatitis C treatments," Nimmer said, referencing the pills sold by Gilead Sciences and AbbVie that cost $1,000 more per pill that are busting employer budgets for drugs.
Aon Hewitt's report comes at a time when the investor spotlight is focused on pharmacy benefit management companies such as Express Scripts , CVS Health and its Caremark PBM unit, and UnitedHealth Group , which recently agreed to buy pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran for nearly $13 billion and merge it with UnitedHealth's OptumRx Corp.
Though Aon Hewitt's report doesn't mention PBMs, its analysis says the double-digit cost increases projected over the next three years come "before plan design changes." While those benefit designs are ultimately controlled by employers, changes in co-payments, deductibles, and cost-sharing for drugs also come with the help of a PBM.
"If left unmanaged, these issues could have a significant impact in pushing these increases even higher," Aon's Nimmer said. "Over the past few years, employers have implemented a number of strategies to lower medical costs, including cost sharing through higher co-pays or high-deductible plans, implementing high-performance networks, promoting consumerism, and optimizing vendor partners."
PBMs are already making headlines by aggressively negotiating exclusive deals with Gilead and AbbVie, excluding one drug over the other in contracts that are forcing the drugmakers to bring down the prices of the expensive hepatitis C pills that can cost more than $80,000 for a course of a treatment per patient.
"On the specialty side, PBMs have been aggressively negotiating rebate contracts with manufacturers to keep the total cost of these medications in a range employers can reasonably absorb," John Malley, leader of Aon Hewitt's innovation pharmacy team said. "Employers should continuously monitor their pharmacy pricing, either through discussions with their current PBM or a competitive bid process, to ensure they are receiving the full value of these improved rebate contracts."
Ultimately, these trends and the key role of PBMs right in the middle of the evolving healthcare landscape are something for investors to keep a close eye on, as rising drug costs will likely be a boost to these increasingly important businesses.
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The article Double-Digit Spike in Drug Costs Prescribes Profits for PBMs originally appeared on Fool.com.
Bruce Japsen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Aon, CVS Health, Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | PBMs are already making headlines by aggressively negotiating exclusive deals with Gilead and AbbVie, excluding one drug over the other in contracts that are forcing the drugmakers to bring down the prices of the expensive hepatitis C pills that can cost more than $80,000 for a course of a treatment per patient. "This is primarily due to high price inflation for brand and specialty drugs, a slowdown in blockbuster drugs losing patent protection, generic dispensing rates leveling off, and the robust pipeline of specialty drugs including the new Hepatitis C treatments," Nimmer said, referencing the pills sold by Gilead Sciences and AbbVie that cost $1,000 more per pill that are busting employer budgets for drugs. "On the specialty side, PBMs have been aggressively negotiating rebate contracts with manufacturers to keep the total cost of these medications in a range employers can reasonably absorb," John Malley, leader of Aon Hewitt's innovation pharmacy team said. | "This is primarily due to high price inflation for brand and specialty drugs, a slowdown in blockbuster drugs losing patent protection, generic dispensing rates leveling off, and the robust pipeline of specialty drugs including the new Hepatitis C treatments," Nimmer said, referencing the pills sold by Gilead Sciences and AbbVie that cost $1,000 more per pill that are busting employer budgets for drugs. PBMs are already making headlines by aggressively negotiating exclusive deals with Gilead and AbbVie, excluding one drug over the other in contracts that are forcing the drugmakers to bring down the prices of the expensive hepatitis C pills that can cost more than $80,000 for a course of a treatment per patient. Aon Hewitt's report comes at a time when the investor spotlight is focused on pharmacy benefit management companies such as Express Scripts , CVS Health and its Caremark PBM unit, and UnitedHealth Group , which recently agreed to buy pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran for nearly $13 billion and merge it with UnitedHealth's OptumRx Corp. | "This is primarily due to high price inflation for brand and specialty drugs, a slowdown in blockbuster drugs losing patent protection, generic dispensing rates leveling off, and the robust pipeline of specialty drugs including the new Hepatitis C treatments," Nimmer said, referencing the pills sold by Gilead Sciences and AbbVie that cost $1,000 more per pill that are busting employer budgets for drugs. PBMs are already making headlines by aggressively negotiating exclusive deals with Gilead and AbbVie, excluding one drug over the other in contracts that are forcing the drugmakers to bring down the prices of the expensive hepatitis C pills that can cost more than $80,000 for a course of a treatment per patient. "Medical cost increases over the past few years have offset some of the higher pharmacy costs in the short term, but for 2015 and 2016, there will be more pressure than relief on pharmacy cost," Tim Nimmer, global chief actuary for the firm's Aon Health unit, said in a statement accompanying the report. | "This is primarily due to high price inflation for brand and specialty drugs, a slowdown in blockbuster drugs losing patent protection, generic dispensing rates leveling off, and the robust pipeline of specialty drugs including the new Hepatitis C treatments," Nimmer said, referencing the pills sold by Gilead Sciences and AbbVie that cost $1,000 more per pill that are busting employer budgets for drugs. PBMs are already making headlines by aggressively negotiating exclusive deals with Gilead and AbbVie, excluding one drug over the other in contracts that are forcing the drugmakers to bring down the prices of the expensive hepatitis C pills that can cost more than $80,000 for a course of a treatment per patient. The spike in employer spending on prescription drugs is now forecast to jump around 10% for the next three years, according to a new report that puts pressure on companies to dramatically alter pharmacy benefits. |
26979.0 | 2015-04-20 00:00:00 UTC | Will Abbott Labs (ABT) Disappoint on Earnings This Quarter? - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/will-abbott-labs-abt-disappoint-on-earnings-this-quarter-analyst-blog-2015-04-20 | nan | nan | Abbott LaboratoriesABT is scheduled to report first-quarter 2015 results before the opening bell on Apr 22, 2015.
Abbott Labs' track record was impressive in 2014 with the company beating estimates comfortably in all the four quarters. The average earnings surprise over the last four quarters has been 7.69%.
Factors to Influence 1Q Results
Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013.
However, strengthening of the dollar against almost every currency and declining oil prices have significantly clouded the global economic outlook for 2015. Unfavorable movement in foreign currency rates is expected to impact 2015 results adversely, particularly in emerging markets where currencies have been devalued.
Abbott generates roughly 70% of its sales from outside the U.S. Sales in 2015 will be negatively impacted to the tune of 6% in 2015 compared to 2.5% in 2014. The bottom line will be negatively impacted by 10% by currency rates. Sales in the first quarter will be impacted by 7%.
Moreover, growth has dampened in the medical devices and diagnostics segments. Intensifying competition in the drug-eluting stent business continues to negatively impact the company's quarterly sales.
In our opinion, these factors will impact first-quarter results adversely, notwithstanding Abbott Labs' positive earnings streak through the last 12 months.
What Our Model Indicates
Our proven model does not conclusively shows that Abbott Labs is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to likely post an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP : The Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is pegged at 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate both stand at 42 cents.
Zacks Rank : Abbott Labs currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and #5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revision momentum.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are some health care stocks that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.
Biogen Inc. BIIB has an Earnings ESP of +0.51% and carries a Zacks Rank #1. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter 2015 results on Apr 24.
Amgen Inc. AMGN has an earnings ESP of +3.38% and carries a Zacks Rank #1. The company is scheduled to release its first-quarter 2015 results on Apr 21.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Factors to Influence 1Q Results Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. However, strengthening of the dollar against almost every currency and declining oil prices have significantly clouded the global economic outlook for 2015. | Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Factors to Influence 1Q Results Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. In our opinion, these factors will impact first-quarter results adversely, notwithstanding Abbott Labs' positive earnings streak through the last 12 months. | Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Factors to Influence 1Q Results Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to likely post an earnings beat. | Factors to Influence 1Q Results Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report AMGEN INC (AMGN): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Sales in the first quarter will be impacted by 7%. |
26980.0 | 2015-04-18 00:00:00 UTC | What Could Possibly Go Wrong With Gilead Sciences Inc. Stock? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/what-could-possibly-go-wrong-gilead-sciences-inc-stock-2015-04-18 | nan | nan | Source: Wikimedia Commons .
Chip and Dan Heath give valuable advice on making decisions in their book "Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work". In the book, the Heath brothers recommend taking four actions to make better decisions: Widen your options, reality-test your assumptions, attain distance before deciding, and prepare to be wrong.
These principles are good ones for investors to follow. In particular, I think the advice to prepare to be wrong is wise. With this in mind, I picked one of the stocks I personally own, Gilead Sciences , to examine in order to identify how things could go awry. What could possibly go wrong with Gilead? Here are three possibilities.
1. Patent problems
One possible scenario that could really hurt Gilead Sciences' share price would be a major loss in one of several patent lawsuits over hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni. What would be the worst case if this happened? Gilead could be prevented from selling the products unless it was able to obtain a license from the company, or companies, winning the patent litigation. Such an event would put over $12 billion per year in revenue at risk.
Source: Gilead Sciences.
Two patent lawsuits are most noteworthy. Merck has demanded that Gilead pay royalties on sales of Sovaldi. Gilead responded with a lawsuit seeking to have Merck's patents declared invalid. This litigation is scheduled to go to federal court in March 2016.
Gilead also initiated a lawsuit against AbbVie in 2013 over patents involving Harvoni. AbbVie countered with two lawsuits of its own in 2014. The cases have been combined and are headed to court. Losing to Merck or AbbVie would present massive problems for Gilead.
2. Concerning competition
Gilead managed to get a nice head start on competitors by winning regulatory approval for Sovaldi before its major rivals secured approval for their hepatitis C drugs. However, the biotech isn't totally insulated from the danger of other drugs stealing enough market share to inflict serious wounds.
AbbVie landed a punch in December when giant pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts selected Viekira Pak over Sovaldi for its formulary. That deal resulted in Gilead's shares plunging more than 15% -- at least temporarily. Since then, Gilead has forged its own deals with other payers. AbbVie still represents a threat, however.
Meanwhile, Merck appears to be on track to submit for approval of its hep C regimen grazoprevir/elbasvir within the next few months. The big drugmaker recently won two Breakthrough Therapy designations for the combo. Perhaps the chief worry for Gilead is that the potential addition of another hepatitis C drug on the market could lead to another round of pricing battles between the major players.
3. Bad buyout
One other possible way Gilead could go astray is by making an ill-advised acquisition. The biotech currently sits on a cash stockpile of over $10 billion. It wouldn't be surprising to see Gilead spend a big chunk of that money to buy a smaller biotech.
If Gilead does move ahead with an acquisition, the challenge will be to make it a smart one. The market could penalize Gilead if there's a perception that the company has spent too much money on a foolhardy bet. Another potential downside associated with a bad buyout is that it could divert Gilead's focus to the extent that it loses its mojo.
Don't forget the other three principles
Those are just three scenarios where things could go badly for Gilead. There are others. However, it's important to remember the other three decision-making principles given by Chip and Dan Heath. In particular, reality-testing assumptions makes a lot of sense.
While it's true that Gilead faces potential patent problems, consider the previous outcomes on patent issues related to Sovaldi. Gilead has already won two U.S. Patient and Trademark Office decisions concerning its Sovaldi patents. It also prevailed in patent skirmishes in Norway and the United Kingdom. These precedents don't mean Gilead will necessarily win in the future, but they are encouraging.
As for competition, Gilead seems to have outmaneuvered AbbVie in the payer battle for now. While AbbVie landed Express Scripts, Gilead secured deals with many other big payers. Even throwing Merck into the picture at some point in the future, Sovaldi and Harvoni should remain the biggest winners in the hep C market, which it's important to remember is large enough to support multiple players.
Finally, take into consideration Gilead's past buyout experiences. In 2011, for example, the biotech bought Pharmasset for $11 billion. Many thought Gilead paid too much. With that acquisition, though, Gilead secured what would become Sovaldi. That turned out to be a very smart decision.
Yes -- things could go wrong for Gilead Sciences and its stock. It's good to consider those possibilities. However, also ask what could go right for Gilead Sciences? My take is the answer to that question makes Gilead a compelling stock to buy and hold for the long run.
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One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... but you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article What Could Possibly Go Wrong With Gilead Sciences Inc. Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences -- and still likes the decision he made to buy both stocks. The Motley Fool recommends Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie landed a punch in December when giant pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts selected Viekira Pak over Sovaldi for its formulary. Gilead also initiated a lawsuit against AbbVie in 2013 over patents involving Harvoni. AbbVie countered with two lawsuits of its own in 2014. | While AbbVie landed Express Scripts, Gilead secured deals with many other big payers. Gilead also initiated a lawsuit against AbbVie in 2013 over patents involving Harvoni. AbbVie countered with two lawsuits of its own in 2014. | Gilead also initiated a lawsuit against AbbVie in 2013 over patents involving Harvoni. AbbVie countered with two lawsuits of its own in 2014. Losing to Merck or AbbVie would present massive problems for Gilead. | While AbbVie landed Express Scripts, Gilead secured deals with many other big payers. Gilead also initiated a lawsuit against AbbVie in 2013 over patents involving Harvoni. AbbVie countered with two lawsuits of its own in 2014. |
26981.0 | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC | Johnson & Johnson's Earnings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/johnson-johnsons-earnings-good-bad-and-ugly-2015-04-16 | nan | nan | After a stellar 2014, Johnson & Johnson 's stock has lagged behind the broader market this year:
To gain some insight into this top healthcare stock's weakness so far in 2015, let's dig into the company's first-quarter earnings, released earlier this week. Here are the good, the bad, and the ugly from J&J's first-quarter.
The Good
Pharmaceutical sales, the company's largest and strongest business segment, still posted a 3% growth rate, despite losing exclusivity for Remicade in some EU territories, Olysio sales plummeting, and the negative impacts of a strong dollar.
In fact, the pharma giant actually saw sales grow by a respectable 10.2% on an operational basis, buoyed largely by soaring sales of the diabetes drug Invokana. Specifically, Invokana sales nearly tripled year-over-year to $278 million compared to $94 million a year ago.
Imbruvica sales are also skyrocketing, fueled by successful label expansions that should push sales into the blockbuster realm within the next twelve months. As a reminder, J&J splits net sales from Imbruvica with AbbVie / Pharmacyclics per their marketing agreement. Nonetheless, this broad-based cancer drug will be an important revenue driver for the foreseeable future, especially as additional indications for hematological malignancies, and perhaps even inflammatory diseases, potentially come into play.
Sales of the prostate cancer drug Zytiga performed admirably in the face of growing competition from Medivation / Astellas Pharma 's Xtandi. Per the first-quarter numbers, Zytiga's global sales grew by 8.6% year-over-year (19.2% on an operational basis). That said, this single digit growth rate is somewhat alarming given that the drug has typically posted annual growth rates exceeding 40% . Put simply, Xtandi does appear to be cutting into Zytiga's monstrous growth rate, although foreign exchange rates, or FX, also played a major role in this decline.
The Bad
Remicade has been one of J&J's strongest performers. But the loss of patent exclusivity in the EU combined with unfavorable exchange rates led to an 18% drop-off in annual ex-U.S. sales.
The company does have patent protection for the cancer drug in the U.S. until 2018, and is attempting to extend this period by a couple more years through various legal means. Unfortunately, the U.S. Patent Office has continually ruled against J&J, meaning that Cellitron and Hospira (now owned by Pfizer ) may decide to try to launch their biosimilar, called Remsima, "at-risk" in 2018. I mention that this would be an at-risk launch because an appeals court could overturn the decision of the U.S. Patent Office down the line, which would force Remsima's launch to either be significantly delayed or potentially pulled from the market, depending on how this plays out.
The Ugly
As I mentioned a few months back , the hep C drug Olysio was easily J&J's biggest growth driver in 2014. But the launch of Gilead Sciences ' Harvoni essentially made the drug obsolete. Following this event, I suggested that Olysio sales could crater by 99%, and so far, this prediction is turning out to be on target.
In the first quarter, U.S. sales of the drug dropped by a staggering 66% year-over-year, although a fair amount of growth in international markets helped to soften the overall drop to 34%. Regardless, I still think Olysio will become obsolete before year's end, making it a non-factor for J&J's infectious disease unit.
The international scope of J&J's three business segments exposed the company in a big way to the effects of a strong dollar on currency exchange rates. For the quarter, J&J reported a total decline in revenue of 4.1% compared to a year ago, reflecting a 7.2% negative impact stemming from FX. If we exclude FX, J&J actually grew revenue by 3.1% for the year.
Unfortunately, the dollar is expected to remain strong for the time being, so this issue will probably end up hurting the company's growth prospects for the remainder of the year.
What's next?
J&J has a mountain of cash, shown by the chart below. And as we learned a month ago from its pursuit of Pharmacyclics, the company is interested in joining the M&A frenzy in healthcare. So, with Olsyio, Remicade, and Zytiga seeing sales start to fall off, I think the pressure is on to put some of this cash to work via a buyout.
If the Pharmacyclics buyout attempt is any guide, considering J&J's core strengths in pharma, I think there are three names the company could potentailly target next: Acadia Pharmaceuticals for its Parkinson's disease psychosis drug Nuplazid, Juno Therapeutics for its CAR-T immuno-oncology platform, or perhaps Seattle Genetics for its antibody drug conjugate technology.
The problem is that some of the most promising mid-sized biopharmas have already gotten snatched up (Pharmacyclics and Hospira are two examples), leaving a population of buyout candidates with comparatively riskier assets.
Puma Biotechnology , for instance, looks like a great fit for J&J, but there are too many unanswered questions regarding its drug neratinib's efficacy at this point. And an antisense drugmaker like Isis Pharmaceuticals simply wouldn't be a great fit with J&J's core areas of expertise from a technology standpoint -- although Isis probably offers one of the best valuation propositions in the pharma landscape right now, in my opinion.
All told, I think investors should expect J&J to execute a buyout sometime this year, especially in light of its mixed first-quarter earnings report and full-year guidance.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Johnson & Johnson's Earnings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, and Seattle Genetics. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | As a reminder, J&J splits net sales from Imbruvica with AbbVie / Pharmacyclics per their marketing agreement. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. Nonetheless, this broad-based cancer drug will be an important revenue driver for the foreseeable future, especially as additional indications for hematological malignancies, and perhaps even inflammatory diseases, potentially come into play. | As a reminder, J&J splits net sales from Imbruvica with AbbVie / Pharmacyclics per their marketing agreement. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. The Good Pharmaceutical sales, the company's largest and strongest business segment, still posted a 3% growth rate, despite losing exclusivity for Remicade in some EU territories, Olysio sales plummeting, and the negative impacts of a strong dollar. | As a reminder, J&J splits net sales from Imbruvica with AbbVie / Pharmacyclics per their marketing agreement. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. After a stellar 2014, Johnson & Johnson 's stock has lagged behind the broader market this year: To gain some insight into this top healthcare stock's weakness so far in 2015, let's dig into the company's first-quarter earnings, released earlier this week. | As a reminder, J&J splits net sales from Imbruvica with AbbVie / Pharmacyclics per their marketing agreement. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals. The Good Pharmaceutical sales, the company's largest and strongest business segment, still posted a 3% growth rate, despite losing exclusivity for Remicade in some EU territories, Olysio sales plummeting, and the negative impacts of a strong dollar. |
26982.0 | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC | Notable ETF Outflow Detected - SSO, ABT, ABBV, ACN | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/notable-etf-outflow-detected-sso-abt-abbv-acn-2015-04-16 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $60.4 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.9% decrease week over week (from 15,775,000 to 15,325,000). Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 1.1%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is lower by about 0.4%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $99.04 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $133.61. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 1.1%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is lower by about 0.4%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $60.4 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.9% decrease week over week (from 15,775,000 to 15,325,000). These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 1.1%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is lower by about 0.4%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $99.04 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $133.61. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 1.1%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is lower by about 0.4%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $60.4 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.9% decrease week over week (from 15,775,000 to 15,325,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $99.04 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $133.61. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is down about 0.4%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is up about 1.1%, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is lower by about 0.4%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $99.04 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $133.61. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). |
26983.0 | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC | The Best Stock to Invest in Hep C | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/best-stock-invest-hep-c-2015-04-16 | nan | nan | Tiny developers in the mix
Meanwhile, a couple of intriguing programs are also under way at small-cap biotech companies.
Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing ACH-3102, a NS5A inhibitor that works similarly to ledipasvir, one of the two drugs in Gilead Sciences' Harvoni -- the other being Sovaldi. In small phase 2 trials, combining ACH-3102 with Sovaldi produced 100% cure rates in as few as six weeks of treatment.
Achillion is studying whether the combination can deliver a functional cure in four weeks, and the company would ideally like to replace Sovaldi with its homegrown ACH-3422. Studies are just now beginning to determine if an ACH-3102 plus ACH-3422 combination is as effective as ACH-3102 plus Sovaldi.
Another intriguing therapy is Regulus Therapeutics ' RG-101, a drug that targets micro RNA in a bid to disrupt hep C replication. In a very early stage trial, nine of 14 patients who received a single 4 milligram dose of RG-101 were hep C free after 57 days. However, since that research is still in the very early stages, it's far too speculative to draw any long-term conclusions.
Tying it together
According to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, healthcare payers are expected to spend at least $90 billion over the next five years on hepatitis C therapies. Hep C affects more than 150 million globally, including 3 million Americans and 9 million Europeans, so this is a long-tail treatment opportunity that is likely to reward investors for many years to come. Since Gilead Sciences is already the market share leader and has compelling next-generation hep C drugs in development that could thwart competitors, I believe it could likely remain the best investment opportunity in this indication.
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The article The Best Stock to Invest in Hep C originally appeared on Fool.com.
Todd Campbell owns shares of Achillion and Gilead Sciences. Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may or may not have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing ACH-3102, a NS5A inhibitor that works similarly to ledipasvir, one of the two drugs in Gilead Sciences' Harvoni -- the other being Sovaldi. Tying it together According to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, healthcare payers are expected to spend at least $90 billion over the next five years on hepatitis C therapies. Since Gilead Sciences is already the market share leader and has compelling next-generation hep C drugs in development that could thwart competitors, I believe it could likely remain the best investment opportunity in this indication. | Todd Campbell owns shares of Achillion and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. | Hep C affects more than 150 million globally, including 3 million Americans and 9 million Europeans, so this is a long-tail treatment opportunity that is likely to reward investors for many years to come. Since Gilead Sciences is already the market share leader and has compelling next-generation hep C drugs in development that could thwart competitors, I believe it could likely remain the best investment opportunity in this indication. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. | In a very early stage trial, nine of 14 patients who received a single 4 milligram dose of RG-101 were hep C free after 57 days. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts, Gilead Sciences, and Johnson & Johnson. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. |
26984.0 | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie's HCV Treatment Granted Priority Review in Japan - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvies-hcv-treatment-granted-priority-review-in-japan-analyst-blog-2015-04-16 | nan | nan | AbbVieABBV announced that its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment was granted priority review in Japan.
AbbVie's all-oral, ribavirin and interferon free, 12-week, two direct-acting antiviral treatment comprises a fixed dose of paritaprevir/ritonavir in combination with ombitasvir, dosed once daily. The company is looking to get the combination approved for the treatment of patients with genotype 1 (GT1) chronic HCV infection.
In Feb 2015, AbbVie had filed a new drug application with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the HCV treatment.
We note that AbbVie's three-drug HCV regimen, Viekira Pak and Viekirax + Exviera has already gained approval in the U.S. (Dec 2014) and EU (Jan 2015). AbbVie's two-drug direct-acting HCV regimen also has a good chance of gaining approval based on high rates of response and low discontinuation rates.
We remind investors that pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Express Scripts ESRX , has added AbbVie's Viekira Pak to its formulary offering it as an exclusive option for GT1 HCV patients from Jan 1, 2015. Express Scripts' decision to choose lower-priced Viekira Pak over other expensive HCV drugs like Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni has led to intense pricing competition in the HCV market.
Several other companies are also looking to bring their shorter duration HCV treatments to the market. We expect the HCV market and pricing competition to remain in focus for the rest of 2015.
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is Biogen Inc. BIIB holding a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We note that AbbVie's three-drug HCV regimen, Viekira Pak and Viekirax + Exviera has already gained approval in the U.S. (Dec 2014) and EU (Jan 2015). We remind investors that pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Express Scripts ESRX , has added AbbVie's Viekira Pak to its formulary offering it as an exclusive option for GT1 HCV patients from Jan 1, 2015. AbbVieABBV announced that its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment was granted priority review in Japan. | We remind investors that pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Express Scripts ESRX , has added AbbVie's Viekira Pak to its formulary offering it as an exclusive option for GT1 HCV patients from Jan 1, 2015. Click to get this free report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVieABBV announced that its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment was granted priority review in Japan. | Click to get this free report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVieABBV announced that its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment was granted priority review in Japan. AbbVie's all-oral, ribavirin and interferon free, 12-week, two direct-acting antiviral treatment comprises a fixed dose of paritaprevir/ritonavir in combination with ombitasvir, dosed once daily. | We note that AbbVie's three-drug HCV regimen, Viekira Pak and Viekirax + Exviera has already gained approval in the U.S. (Dec 2014) and EU (Jan 2015). Click to get this free report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report EXPRESS SCRIPTS (ESRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BIOGEN IDEC INC (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVieABBV announced that its experimental hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment was granted priority review in Japan. |
26985.0 | 2015-04-15 00:00:00 UTC | Abbott Labs, Sekisui Medical to Offer Coagulation Tests - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbott-labs-sekisui-medical-to-offer-coagulation-tests-analyst-blog-2015-04-15 | nan | nan | Abbott LaboratoriesABT announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sekisui Medical to offer coagulation testing solutions for laboratories on a worldwide basis.
As per the terms of the agreement, Abbott Labs will be the exclusive distributor of Sekisui's new CP3000 coagulation instrument in the U.S., Europe and other regions that recognize CE Mark.
Abbott Labs expects that sales of the CP3000 will begin later in Europe, countries that recognize CE Mark and non-regulated countries in 2015, and in the U.S. in 2016. The company will also have non-exclusive distribution rights with Sekisui in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Macau.
Coagulation tests enable measurement of a person's blood clotting ability, which can enable doctors assess risks of excessive bleeding or developing clots.
The testing will help clinicians to assess patients prior to medical treatments and monitor those who take medications that may affect clotting. The tests are also useful for the diagnosis of blood-related disorders, such as hemophilia and thrombosis.
Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013.
However, lackluster performance in the established pharmaceuticals division propelled the company to realign the segment and divest its branded generic business in developed markets. Growth has dampened in medical devices and diagnostics segment. Hence, Abbott Labs has been putting efforts on boosting its diagnostics segment.
Abbott Labs currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Mallinckrodt plc MNK and Valeant Pharmaceuticals VRX . Both carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report MALLINCKRODT PL (MNK): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Abbott LaboratoriesABT announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sekisui Medical to offer coagulation testing solutions for laboratories on a worldwide basis. | Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report MALLINCKRODT PL (MNK): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. Abbott Labs expects that sales of the CP3000 will begin later in Europe, countries that recognize CE Mark and non-regulated countries in 2015, and in the U.S. in 2016. | Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report MALLINCKRODT PL (MNK): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Abbott Labs is a diversified company with presence in diagnostics, nutrition, branded generics and medical devices, after having separated its pharmaceutical business into a new company called AbbVie ABBV in Jan 2013. Click to get this free report ABBOTT LABS (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report MALLINCKRODT PL (MNK): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The testing will help clinicians to assess patients prior to medical treatments and monitor those who take medications that may affect clotting. |
26986.0 | 2015-04-11 00:00:00 UTC | 10 Largest Companies by Market Cap in Biotech | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/10-largest-companies-market-cap-biotech-2015-04-11 | nan | nan | Source: Celgene
Big bucks are being made in biotech. That's clear from the sizzling performance of the industry. If five years ago you had invested $1,000 each in the current 10 biggest biotechs in terms of market cap, you would now have over $92,000. Which companies make up this top 10 list by market cap? Here are the biotechs that stand atop the industry.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Similar but different
These biotechs are certainly quite different, but they share at least one thing in common. Each company derives a big chunk of its revenue from only one or two drugs.
Source: Gilead Sciences
Hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni together generated more than half of Gilead Sciences' sales last quarter. The same was true for Amgen with Neupogen/Neulasta and Enbrel. Multiple sclerosis drugs Tecfidera and Avonex raked in more than 70% of Biogen's total sales last quarter. Celgene pulled in over 64% of its revenue from Revlimid. BioMarin's Naglazyme and Kuvan accounted for nearly 63% of total sales in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Other biotechs are pretty much one-drug wonders -- at least for now. Regeneron's Eylea, Alexion's Soliris, and Vertex's Kalydeco all account for nearly all of each company's total product sales. The same is true for Pharmacyclics' Imbruvica and Incyte's Jakafi.
The trajectories for these biotechs and their main products vary, however. Gilead's hepatitis C drugs and Pharmacyclics' Imbruvica, for example, are still relatively new to the market and growing sales quickly. Amgen, on the other hand, experienced a year-over-year decline in revenue from its Neupogen/Neulasta franchise and relatively anemic sales growth for Enbrel.
Pipeline strength also differs considerably among the top 10 biotechs. Biogen's experimental Alzheimer's disease drug could become a huge winner for the company down the road. Incyte claims a couple of JAK-inhibiting cancer drugs in pivotal clinical trials that investors are anxiously watching. Meanwhile, Gilead and Celgene boast of 20 or more mid-stage and late-stage trials under way.
Changes in the air
One thing seems certain. The current ranking of the biggest biotechs won't remain the same for much longer.
Imbruvica. Source: Pharmacyclics
AbbVie announced plans in March to acquire Pharmacyclics for around $21 billion in large part to add Imbruvica to its lineup. Assuming all goes well, Pharmacyclics will drop off the list in mid-2015. Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl about BioMarin as a potential takeover target . Analysts at UBS add Alexion and Incyte to the list of biotechs that larger companies could be interested in scooping up.
The order at the top appears likely to change as well. Celgene seems poised to move past both Amgen and Biogen in market cap over the next couple of years or so based on earnings growth projections. And there's always the possibility that one or more of the big biotechs use their cash to make a purchase that changes the map. Gilead, for example, has over $10 billion in cash, while Amgen claims a cash stockpile of more than $27 billion.
Best of the biggies?
Which is the best of the big biotechs? It depends.
Over the last five years, Pharmacyclics enjoyed the biggest stock gains by far, climbing more than 3700%. Keep in mind, though, that the biotech's starting point was also the lowest back then. If you're looking for which of these biotechs has the greatest chance of a ginormous breakout, go with a relatively smaller one like Incyte.
However, if you're wanting to go with the company that appears to have the highest probability of maintaining sustained success over the long term, my picks would be Gilead and Celgene. Gilead has two juggernaut franchises -- one in hepatitis C and another in HIV/AIDS. Celgene continues to expand the strength of its portfolio with up-and-coming drugs including Abraxane and Otezla. I think Gilead gets the nod due to a lower valuation, but either of these biotechs could be good selections for investors hoping to make their own big bucks in biotech.
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One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article 10 Largest Companies by Market Cap in Biotech originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights owns shares of Celgene and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Celgene, Gilead Sciences, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Source: Pharmacyclics AbbVie announced plans in March to acquire Pharmacyclics for around $21 billion in large part to add Imbruvica to its lineup. Incyte claims a couple of JAK-inhibiting cancer drugs in pivotal clinical trials that investors are anxiously watching. Celgene seems poised to move past both Amgen and Biogen in market cap over the next couple of years or so based on earnings growth projections. | Source: Pharmacyclics AbbVie announced plans in March to acquire Pharmacyclics for around $21 billion in large part to add Imbruvica to its lineup. If five years ago you had invested $1,000 each in the current 10 biggest biotechs in terms of market cap, you would now have over $92,000. The Motley Fool recommends BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Celgene, Gilead Sciences, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. | Source: Pharmacyclics AbbVie announced plans in March to acquire Pharmacyclics for around $21 billion in large part to add Imbruvica to its lineup. Source: Gilead Sciences Hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni together generated more than half of Gilead Sciences' sales last quarter. Gilead's hepatitis C drugs and Pharmacyclics' Imbruvica, for example, are still relatively new to the market and growing sales quickly. | Source: Pharmacyclics AbbVie announced plans in March to acquire Pharmacyclics for around $21 billion in large part to add Imbruvica to its lineup. Which companies make up this top 10 list by market cap? The same is true for Pharmacyclics' Imbruvica and Incyte's Jakafi. |
26987.0 | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC | 7 High-Dividend Stocks in Healthcare | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/7-high-dividend-stocks-healthcare-2015-04-10 | nan | nan | Source: PDL BioPharma.
However, just because PDL has low costs in no way makes it a safe investment. PDL is wholly dependent on its royalty stream, and its management team has previously mentioned that if it's unable to replace its royalty revenue with new products in the future, it may be best to wind down its business. With its Queen patents expiring in Dec. 2014, and some lag time between its last royalty payments for these patents of around a year, PDL's revenue could fall by 60% or more in 2016. If anything, it seems probable that PDL BioPharma may need to reduce its dividend payout in the near future.
The same might be said for royalty company Theravance, which I believe committed the ultimate no-no in 2014 when it borrowed $450 million at a whopping 9% interest through 2018 in order to assist in financing a $0.25/quarter dividend.
Expected to support Theravance's hefty payout are its co-developed LAMA/LABA COPD and asthma drug hopefuls Breo Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta, Incruse Ellipta, and Arnuity Ellipta. Unfortunately, the drug launch for Breo and Anoro has been less than stellar, whisking away hopes of quick profitability for Theravance. More worrisome is Theravance's remaining $725.6 million in debt and its looming debt payment in a few years. I have a suspicion that this dividend may not hold over the long run.
Source: GlaxoSmithKline, Facebook.
Even established Big Pharma stocks aren't immune from dividend challenges. GlaxoSmithKline's workhorse drug is long-term asthma and COPD therapy Advair/Seretide, which delivered $6.3 billion in sales last year, down 15% year over year. Advair actually lost its patent protection years ago, but generic therapies aren't set to hit the market until 2016. Once they do, though, GlaxoSmithKline could be facing a huge profit decline and may need to cut its dividend payout.
High-dividend stocks in healthcare you can trust
The good news is there are high-dividend healthcare stocks you can trust -- you just have to be picky with what you buy.
AbbVie, for instance, is doing a good job of shoring up its pipeline in lieu of an eventual patent loss for anti-inflammatory Humira, the current best-selling drug in the world, later this decade.
Topping the list of its recent moves is its $21 billion purchase of Pharmacyclics , the co-developer of Imbruvica, a blood cancer drug that's already been approved in three indications, including mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (the most common blood cancer in adults), and is being tested in countless additional trials for both blood-borne and solid tumors. Peak sales estimates for Imbruvica on Wall Street have regularly ranged between $5 billion and $9 billion, with AbbVie now getting its slice of this revenue along with Pharmacyclics' development partner Johnson & Johnson .
It still might be a little early to suggest AbbVie's high-yield dividend can hold up just fine, but it's certainly making good inroads toward ensuring its dividend remains superior to its many of its peers.
Source: Flickr user Lindsey Turner.
Small-cap PetMed Express is another name I believe you can trust. Even though direct-to-consumer animal pharmaceutical sales haven't taken off as quickly as expected, the company's high single-digit profit margin, $52.7 million in cash and cash equivalents with no debt, and 74% payout ratio based on its projected 2015 EPS, give it some breathing room to maintain its payout. If anything, I'd cautiously speculate that PetMed Express' enterprise value of $278 million is cheap enough to potentially attract buyout interest down the road.
In the end, there are great dividend stocks to choose from in the healthcare sector, you just have to be willing to look beyond their yields to determine if the business model has the substance needed to maintain that payout (or grow it) over the long run.
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The article 7 High-Dividend Stocks in Healthcare originally appeared on Fool.com.
Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen nameTMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen nameTrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle@TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie, for instance, is doing a good job of shoring up its pipeline in lieu of an eventual patent loss for anti-inflammatory Humira, the current best-selling drug in the world, later this decade. Peak sales estimates for Imbruvica on Wall Street have regularly ranged between $5 billion and $9 billion, with AbbVie now getting its slice of this revenue along with Pharmacyclics' development partner Johnson & Johnson . It still might be a little early to suggest AbbVie's high-yield dividend can hold up just fine, but it's certainly making good inroads toward ensuring its dividend remains superior to its many of its peers. | AbbVie, for instance, is doing a good job of shoring up its pipeline in lieu of an eventual patent loss for anti-inflammatory Humira, the current best-selling drug in the world, later this decade. Peak sales estimates for Imbruvica on Wall Street have regularly ranged between $5 billion and $9 billion, with AbbVie now getting its slice of this revenue along with Pharmacyclics' development partner Johnson & Johnson . It still might be a little early to suggest AbbVie's high-yield dividend can hold up just fine, but it's certainly making good inroads toward ensuring its dividend remains superior to its many of its peers. | It still might be a little early to suggest AbbVie's high-yield dividend can hold up just fine, but it's certainly making good inroads toward ensuring its dividend remains superior to its many of its peers. AbbVie, for instance, is doing a good job of shoring up its pipeline in lieu of an eventual patent loss for anti-inflammatory Humira, the current best-selling drug in the world, later this decade. Peak sales estimates for Imbruvica on Wall Street have regularly ranged between $5 billion and $9 billion, with AbbVie now getting its slice of this revenue along with Pharmacyclics' development partner Johnson & Johnson . | AbbVie, for instance, is doing a good job of shoring up its pipeline in lieu of an eventual patent loss for anti-inflammatory Humira, the current best-selling drug in the world, later this decade. Peak sales estimates for Imbruvica on Wall Street have regularly ranged between $5 billion and $9 billion, with AbbVie now getting its slice of this revenue along with Pharmacyclics' development partner Johnson & Johnson . It still might be a little early to suggest AbbVie's high-yield dividend can hold up just fine, but it's certainly making good inroads toward ensuring its dividend remains superior to its many of its peers. |
26988.0 | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC | AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Ex-Dividend Date Scheduled for April 13, 2015 | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-inc-abbv-ex-dividend-date-scheduled-april-13-2015-2015-04-10 | nan | nan | AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) will begin trading ex-dividend on April 13, 2015. A cash dividend payment of $0.51 per share is scheduled to be paid on May 15, 2015. Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. This represents an 4.08% increase over the prior quarter. At the current stock price of $60.32, the dividend yield is 3.38%.
The previous trading day's last sale of ABBV was $60.32, representing a -14.75% decrease from the 52 week high of $70.76 and a 32.57% increase over the 52 week low of $45.50.
ABBV is a part of the Health Care sector, which includes companies such as Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Novartis AG ( NVS ). ABBV's current earnings per share, an indicator of a company's profitability, is $1.09. Zacks Investment Research reports ABBV's forecasted earnings growth in 2015 as 31.67%, compared to an industry average of -3.9%.
For more information on the declaration, record and payment dates, visit the ABBV Dividend History page. Our Dividend Calendar has the full list of stocks that have an ex-dividend today.
Interested in gaining exposure to ABBV through an Exchange Traded Fund [ETF]?
The following ETF(s) have ABBV as a top-10 holding:
First Trust IPOX-100 Index Fund ( FPX )
Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( PPH )
Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF ( CSD )
SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF ( XPH )
SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF ( SYV ).
The top-performing ETF of this group is XPH with an increase of 16.81% over the last 100 days. FPX has the highest percent weighting of ABBV at 8.26%.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. Zacks Investment Research reports ABBV's forecasted earnings growth in 2015 as 31.67%, compared to an industry average of -3.9%. For more information on the declaration, record and payment dates, visit the ABBV Dividend History page. | The following ETF(s) have ABBV as a top-10 holding: First Trust IPOX-100 Index Fund ( FPX ) Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( PPH ) Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF ( CSD ) SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF ( XPH ) SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF ( SYV ). The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) will begin trading ex-dividend on April 13, 2015. | Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. The previous trading day's last sale of ABBV was $60.32, representing a -14.75% decrease from the 52 week high of $70.76 and a 32.57% increase over the 52 week low of $45.50. The following ETF(s) have ABBV as a top-10 holding: First Trust IPOX-100 Index Fund ( FPX ) Market Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF ( PPH ) Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF ( CSD ) SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF ( XPH ) SPDR MFS Systematic Value Equity ETF ( SYV ). | Shareholders who purchased ABBV prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. ABBV's current earnings per share, an indicator of a company's profitability, is $1.09. AbbVie Inc. ( ABBV ) will begin trading ex-dividend on April 13, 2015. |
26989.0 | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC | Mylan Proposes to Acquire Perrigo, Sets Both Stocks Soaring - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/mylan-proposes-to-acquire-perrigo-sets-both-stocks-soaring-analyst-blog-2015-04-09 | nan | nan | MylanMYL and Perrigo Company PRGO jumped 14.8% and 18.4%, respectively, after it was announced that the former has made a proposal to acquire the latter.
As per the terms of the proposal, Perrigo shareholders would receive $205 per share in a combination of cash and stock. The transaction is valued at approximately $29 billion, which represents a premium of over 25% on Perrigo's unaffected trading price as on Apr 3, 2015.
Perrigo confirmed that it has received the offer and stated that its board will deliberate on it.
What's in it for Mylan?
The acquisition of Perrigo will add a robust suite of store brand over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical products across several categories including analgesics, cough/cold/allergy/sinus, gastrointestinal and smoking cessation products to Mylan's portfolio. Perrigo also has a presence in nutritionals and generics among others.
We note that Perrigo has also been aggressively pursuing acquisitions. Earlier this year, it acquired Omega Pharma, a leading over-the-counter health care company in Europe.
Mylan expects the Perrigo acquisition to fetch significant and meaningful synergies, which in turn would boost operating margins and be accretive to earnings. The combined company will have a strong presence in key developed and emerging markets. Based on 2014 numbers, pro forma sales of the combined entity will be approximately $15.3 billion.
Additionally, if the transaction goes through, we could see a rapid deleveraging as a result of substantial free cash flows, which will allow Mylan to invest in newer opportunities.
Our Take
The Perrigo acquisition will be a strategic fit for Mylan's portfolio and should drive long-term growth. The combined company could become a leading generic and OTC player.
We note that Mylan has been constantly making acquisitions to expand its business. Earlier this year, the company announced its intention to acquire certain female health care businesses of Famy Care Limited, a privately held specialty women's health care company focused on generic oral and injectable contraceptives, intra-uterine devices, tubal rings and hormonereplacement therapies.
It is being speculated that other companies could also be interested in acquiring Perrigo and could out-bid Mylan.
The health care sector has been witnessing a flurry of mergers and acquisitions and licensing deals over the past few quarters. These deals show no signs of slowing down. Last month, Abbvie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC for $21 billion.
Mylan carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while Perrigo is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. Another well-ranked stock in the health care space is Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. VRX carrying a Zacks Rank #2.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Last month, Abbvie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC for $21 billion. Click to get this free report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report MYLAN NV (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report PERRIGO CO PLC (PRGO): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Mylan expects the Perrigo acquisition to fetch significant and meaningful synergies, which in turn would boost operating margins and be accretive to earnings. | Click to get this free report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report MYLAN NV (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report PERRIGO CO PLC (PRGO): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Last month, Abbvie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC for $21 billion. Earlier this year, it acquired Omega Pharma, a leading over-the-counter health care company in Europe. | Click to get this free report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report MYLAN NV (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report PERRIGO CO PLC (PRGO): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Last month, Abbvie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC for $21 billion. Earlier this year, the company announced its intention to acquire certain female health care businesses of Famy Care Limited, a privately held specialty women's health care company focused on generic oral and injectable contraceptives, intra-uterine devices, tubal rings and hormonereplacement therapies. | Click to get this free report VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis Report MYLAN NV (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report PERRIGO CO PLC (PRGO): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Last month, Abbvie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics PCYC for $21 billion. What's in it for Mylan? |
26990.0 | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC | Merck's HCV Combo Drug Gets Two Breakthrough Status - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/mercks-hcv-combo-drug-gets-two-breakthrough-status-analyst-blog-2015-04-09 | nan | nan | Merck & Co. Inc. 's MRK experimental once-daily combination chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, grazoprevir (NS3/4A proteaseinhibitor)/elbasvir (NS5A replication complex inhibitor) received two new Breakthrough Therapy designations from the FDA.
The designations are for the treatment of patients suffering from chronic HCV genotype 4 (GT4) infection and chronic HCV genotype 1 (GT1) infection in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis.
Breakthrough Therapy designation is granted by the FDA to expedite the development and review of a candidate for use alone or in combination that is believed to have the potential to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and which may show substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints.
We remind investors that the FDA had granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to the combination for the treatment of patients with chronic HCV GT1 in Oct 2013. However, in Jan 2015, the FDA notified the company its intention of revoking the designation due to the availability of other new drugs for HCV GT1.
Merck remains on track to file a new drug application for grazoprevir/elbasvir in the first half of 2015. In addition to this, the company plans to present phase II and III data on the candidate in multiple HCV patient types (chronic kidney disease, HIV co-infection, cirrhosis and prior treatment failures) at the International Liver Congress later this month.
Though encouraged by the FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy designations to the combination, we note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak regimen.
Merck carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is Horizon Pharma plc HZNP carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Though encouraged by the FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy designations to the combination, we note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak regimen. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Merck & Co. Inc. 's MRK experimental once-daily combination chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, grazoprevir (NS3/4A proteaseinhibitor)/elbasvir (NS5A replication complex inhibitor) received two new Breakthrough Therapy designations from the FDA. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Though encouraged by the FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy designations to the combination, we note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak regimen. The designations are for the treatment of patients suffering from chronic HCV genotype 4 (GT4) infection and chronic HCV genotype 1 (GT1) infection in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis. | Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Though encouraged by the FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy designations to the combination, we note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak regimen. The designations are for the treatment of patients suffering from chronic HCV genotype 4 (GT4) infection and chronic HCV genotype 1 (GT1) infection in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis. | Though encouraged by the FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy designations to the combination, we note that competition in the HCV market is getting intense given the presence of Gilead's GILD Sovaldi and Harvoni and AbbVie's ABBV Viekira Pak regimen. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We remind investors that the FDA had granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to the combination for the treatment of patients with chronic HCV GT1 in Oct 2013. |
26991.0 | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC | SSO, ABT, ABBV, ACN: ETF Outflow Alert | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/sso-abt-abbv-acn-etf-outflow-alert-2015-04-08 | nan | nan | Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $45.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.2% decrease week over week (from 16,125,000 to 15,775,000). Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is off about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is trading flat, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.5%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $98.84 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $131.47. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average » .
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs experienced notable outflows »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is off about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is trading flat, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.5%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $45.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.2% decrease week over week (from 16,125,000 to 15,775,000). These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is off about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is trading flat, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.5%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $98.84 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $131.47. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is off about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is trading flat, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.5%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $45.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.2% decrease week over week (from 16,125,000 to 15,775,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $98.84 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $131.47. | Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) is off about 0.1%, AbbVie Inc. (Symbol: ABBV) is trading flat, and Accenture plc (Symbol: ACN) is higher by about 0.5%. Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel , one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $45.6 million dollar outflow -- that's a 2.2% decrease week over week (from 16,125,000 to 15,775,000). For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $98.84 per share, with $136.10 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $131.47. |
26992.0 | 2015-04-07 00:00:00 UTC | Repros Gets EU Update on Secondary Hypogonadism Drug - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/repros-gets-eu-update-on-secondary-hypogonadism-drug-analyst-blog-2015-04-07 | nan | nan | Repros Therapeutics Inc.RPRX received encouraging news with the European Medicines Agency saying that the company's enclomiphene citrate (previously known as Androxal) capsules can be submitted for a centralized marketing authorization application (MAA) as a new active substance (NAS).
With the NAS designation in place, Repros is eligible to submit a supplementary protection certificate for the extension of the exclusivity period of the product. We note that last December, the company had expressed its intention to submit a regulatory application in the EU in the first quarter of 2016.
The EU update comes shortly after Repros announced that the FDA has accepted its new drug application for enclomiphene citrate for review. The company is looking to get the candidate approved for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism in overweight men wishing to restore normal testicular function.
Meanwhile, Repros has made significant progress with its pipeline. Apart from enclomiphene citrate, the company has Proellex in its pipeline. Proellex is being developed for indications like uterine fibroids and endometriosis. In Dec 2014, the company initiated a couple of phase IIb efficacy studies on Proellex (both oral and vaginal administration) for the treatment of uterine fibroids in women who experience heavy vaginal bleeding due to these benign tumors. The company is also conducting a phase II study on Proellex (low-dose oral administration) for the treatment of endometriosis.
With no approved product in Repros' portfolio at the moment and enclomiphene citrate being the company's lead pipeline candidate, we expect investor focus to remain on its approval status.
Currently prescribed treatments for hypogonadism include AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel.
Repros currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector are Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. ACOR and Horizon Pharma plc HZNP . Both hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Currently prescribed treatments for hypogonadism include AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel. Click to get this free report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Get Free Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Repros Therapeutics Inc.RPRX received encouraging news with the European Medicines Agency saying that the company's enclomiphene citrate (previously known as Androxal) capsules can be submitted for a centralized marketing authorization application (MAA) as a new active substance (NAS). | Click to get this free report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Get Free Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Currently prescribed treatments for hypogonadism include AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel. In Dec 2014, the company initiated a couple of phase IIb efficacy studies on Proellex (both oral and vaginal administration) for the treatment of uterine fibroids in women who experience heavy vaginal bleeding due to these benign tumors. | Click to get this free report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Get Free Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Currently prescribed treatments for hypogonadism include AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel. Repros Therapeutics Inc.RPRX received encouraging news with the European Medicines Agency saying that the company's enclomiphene citrate (previously known as Androxal) capsules can be submitted for a centralized marketing authorization application (MAA) as a new active substance (NAS). | Currently prescribed treatments for hypogonadism include AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel. Click to get this free report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Get Free Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The EU update comes shortly after Repros announced that the FDA has accepted its new drug application for enclomiphene citrate for review. |
26993.0 | 2015-04-05 00:00:00 UTC | 3 Events That Could Sink the Biotech Sector This Year | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/3-events-could-sink-biotech-sector-year-2015-04-05 | nan | nan | The biotech sector has been hot over the last few years, which naturally leads to talk of a biotech bubble. We asked our healthcare experts for potential events that might pop that bubble -- or at least let a little air out.
While we're certainly not cheering for these events to happen, we think investors should be aware of potential risks that could send the entire sector downward.
: One of the biggest drivers behind this biotech boom has been the breakthrough of novel treatments that had previously languished for decades. Immunotherapies, for example, are finally living up to their promise as important treatments for cancer. And bluebird bio recently reported stellar results for its gene therapy, LentiGlobin, which is indicated for a rare blood disorder therapy called beta-thalassemia.
In this context, all eyes could be on Celladon 's cardiovascular gene therapy, Mydicar, next month. Specifically, the company is expected to report midstage results from the CUPID-2 study, which is testing Mydicar as a treatment for systolic heart failure. According to Celladon, this trial could serve as the basis for an accelerated regulatory filing in Europe, and if the results are clear-cut enough, in the U.S. as well.
If Mydicar proves ineffective at decreasing the rate at which patients reenter the hospital for heart-related problems, though, biotech investors might take this as a sign that the industry's good luck is finally running out. After all, CUPID-2 was essentially designed to give Mydicar an excellent shot at meeting its primary and secondary endpoints (i.e., the percentage of patients reentering the hospital after receiving Mydicar would have to more than triple for the study to fail, compared to the earlier, albeit much smaller, CUPID-1 trial).
: Drugmakers are enjoying an unprecedented string of price increases that has made drugs increasingly profitable; however, payers are beginning to cry foul.
Previously, sky-high drug prices were limited to specialty drugs used to treat small patient populations, but prices for drugs used to treat big indications have soared, too.
Gilead Sciences ' Sovaldi and Harvoni, two revolutionary hepatitis C drugs that cut treatment duration and boost cure rates, are great examples of surging prices for large patient populations.
Gilead Sciences priced these drugs north of $1,000 per pill. Since there are roughly 3 million HCV patients in the U.S., the market opportunity here is huge. Indeed, Sovaldi and Harvoni had combined sales of $12.4 billion last year.
That prompted pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts to jump at the chance to exchange exclusivity for a steep price cut when AbbVie launched its competing HCV drug Viekira Pak in December. That deal will save payers billions of dollars, and the company is setting its sights on other high-price drugs.
If payers like Express Scripts can leverage their size to knock down prices across the board, biotech revenues could drop significantly.
For example, IMS Health predicted that global spending on specialty cancer drugs will eclipse $71 billion in 2018. If payers can cut prices by 10%, sales in that indication alone would thus fall by $7.1 billion.
: My pick might be the least likely of the three to occur. Or maybe not. It's hard to tell.
While it's hard to quantify the likelihood that an approved drug might have an undisclosed side effect, it seems likely that the event would result in a large hit to not only the owner of the drug but also the overall biotech market.
Part of the run-up in the biotech sector has come from a disregard for the risk involved with developing and marketing drugs. Unfortunately for investors, those risks remain present even if companies are more efficient in developing new drugs.
It's hard to predict the next Vioxx or fen-phen before they occur. Most side effects are discovered during clinical trials, but rare events sometimes aren't revealed until the drug is prescribed to a larger population.
If a new side effect crops up, it's likely to be in a widely prescribed drug -- rare events in a small market aren't likely to be discovered -- which will exacerbate the situation. Investors will be reminded about the unknown risk associated with drug development and will likely take some or all of their money out of the sector.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article 3 Events That Could Sink the Biotech Sector This Year originally appeared on Fool.com.
Brian Orelli has no position in any stocks mentioned. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. Todd Campbell owns shares of Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Bluebird Bio, Express Scripts, and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts and Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | That prompted pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts to jump at the chance to exchange exclusivity for a steep price cut when AbbVie launched its competing HCV drug Viekira Pak in December. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. If Mydicar proves ineffective at decreasing the rate at which patients reenter the hospital for heart-related problems, though, biotech investors might take this as a sign that the industry's good luck is finally running out. | That prompted pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts to jump at the chance to exchange exclusivity for a steep price cut when AbbVie launched its competing HCV drug Viekira Pak in December. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. Previously, sky-high drug prices were limited to specialty drugs used to treat small patient populations, but prices for drugs used to treat big indications have soared, too. | That prompted pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts to jump at the chance to exchange exclusivity for a steep price cut when AbbVie launched its competing HCV drug Viekira Pak in December. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. Previously, sky-high drug prices were limited to specialty drugs used to treat small patient populations, but prices for drugs used to treat big indications have soared, too. | That prompted pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts to jump at the chance to exchange exclusivity for a steep price cut when AbbVie launched its competing HCV drug Viekira Pak in December. George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. and Gilead Sciences. If payers can cut prices by 10%, sales in that indication alone would thus fall by $7.1 billion. |
26994.0 | 2015-04-04 00:00:00 UTC | The Safest Biotech Bet on the Market | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/safest-biotech-bet-market-2015-04-04 | nan | nan | Source: "11g poker chips" by Logan Ingalls from South Boston, MA, USA. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Give up now if you're looking for a totally safe biotech stock. They don't exist.
But if you're looking for a biotech stock that is relatively safe compared to most others, that's a different story. And there's one biotech that is arguably the safest biotech bet on the market: Gilead Sciences . Here's why.
Clearing the deck
When many investors think of biotech stocks, they think of extreme volatility and high risks. The reality is that this perspective is often right on target. But what are the root causes of this volatility and risk? Two big ones stand out.
First, many biotechs only have products at the clinical stage. They're burning through cash hoping to complete testing as quickly as possible. These companies' shares can swing wildly up or down based on reports (and sometimes mere rumors) of their experimental drugs' clinical results.
Source: AbbVie
Second, the fates of these biotechs hinge on regulatory approval. A drug that appeared to be quite successful overall can be turned down by the FDA or European regulatory agencies because of safety concerns.
These two factors alone clear the decks of most biotechs when it comes to any discussion about which one is potentially the safest. A handful of biotechs, though, can claim enough revenue and earnings from already-approved products that they're more (but not totally) insulated from drastic stock gyrations. Gilead belongs in that latter group -- and has for years.
The big boys
But can a convincing argument be made that Gilead is the safest of the consistently profitable biotechs? I think so.
If we find safety in numbers, Gilead wins hands down. It has the biggest market cap of any biotech at $150 billion. That's comfortably ahead of Amgen 's $122 billion market cap. Gilead also beats the market caps of AbbVie , Biogen , and Celgene by 50% or more.
In a comparison of revenue and earnings, Gilead wins again. Last year, the biotech generated earnings of $12.1 billion on revenue of $24.9 billion. Amgen again came in second, with 2014 earnings of $5.1 billion on revenue of a little over $20 billion. AbbVie reported revenue of nearly $20 billion, but had lower earnings than Gilead or Amgen. Biogen and Celgene boasted great numbers also -- but far behind those of the others.
Source: Gilead Sciences
Being big doesn't mean you're necessarily safe, though. Revenue and earnings could be at risk due to competition.
Amgen, for example, made almost 30% of its revenue last year from its Neulasta/Neupogen franchise. But that revenue is declining and could decline even more with the recent approval of Zarxio, a copycat biosimilar to Neupogen. That makes Amgen a riskier biotech stock than Gilead in my view. The same verdict applies to AbbVie, which obtains over 60% of its revenue from Humira, a drug that loses patent protection in December 2016.
Gilead does receive more than half of its total revenue from hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi. And those drugs do have competitors, particularly AbbVie's Viekira Pak. But Gilead has already been entangled in a price battle against AbbVie, and seems to have won; more major payers have selected Harvoni and Sovaldi for their formularies than have picked Viekira Pak.
Trump card
If any biotech has a trump card to play in the battle for safest biotech stock, I'd say it's Gilead. What's that trump card? Valuation.
Gilead looks more attractively valued than any of the other big biotechs mentioned. Its trailing 12-month price-to-earnings multiple is below 14. Amgen claims the second-lowest trailing earnings multiple at a far-distant 24.
On a forward basis, Gilead also comes out smelling like a rose. Its earnings multiple based on future estimates is less than 10. AbbVie takes the consolation prize in this category with a forward P/E under 12.
Valuation is important in the safety question for a simple reason. The stock of a solid company will only decline in value to a point. When investors see shares reach such a low point that buying the stock is practically a steal, that stock is highly likely to rebound. Gilead's relatively low valuation should give the stock somewhat more protection from catastrophic drops than the other biotechs can claim.
The caveat you knew was coming
When all factors are considered, Gilead Sciences has a pretty good claim to the moniker of safest biotech bet in the market. But remember what I said at the very beginning: safest doesn't mean safe.
Gilead's shares will decline significantly at times. In December, the stock dropped over 20%. It could happen again at some point in the future. However, much of the December loss was quickly regained. And that decline contributed to Gilead's current attractive valuation.
You won't find a totally safe biotech stock. But you can find some biotech stocks that let you sleep soundly, knowing that they have a very good shot at performing well over the long run. In my view, Gilead Sciences is one of the best of them.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article The Safest Biotech Bet on the Market originally appeared on Fool.com.
Keith Speights owns shares of Gilead Sciences. (He really does think it's the safest biotech bet out there and made his bet with real money.) He also owns shares of Celgene. The Motley Fool recommends Celgene and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Gilead Sciences. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | But Gilead has already been entangled in a price battle against AbbVie, and seems to have won; more major payers have selected Harvoni and Sovaldi for their formularies than have picked Viekira Pak. Source: AbbVie Second, the fates of these biotechs hinge on regulatory approval. Gilead also beats the market caps of AbbVie , Biogen , and Celgene by 50% or more. | Source: AbbVie Second, the fates of these biotechs hinge on regulatory approval. Gilead also beats the market caps of AbbVie , Biogen , and Celgene by 50% or more. AbbVie reported revenue of nearly $20 billion, but had lower earnings than Gilead or Amgen. | Source: AbbVie Second, the fates of these biotechs hinge on regulatory approval. Gilead also beats the market caps of AbbVie , Biogen , and Celgene by 50% or more. AbbVie reported revenue of nearly $20 billion, but had lower earnings than Gilead or Amgen. | Source: AbbVie Second, the fates of these biotechs hinge on regulatory approval. Gilead also beats the market caps of AbbVie , Biogen , and Celgene by 50% or more. AbbVie reported revenue of nearly $20 billion, but had lower earnings than Gilead or Amgen. |
26995.0 | 2015-04-02 00:00:00 UTC | Is AbbVie Inc. Stock About to Crash? | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/abbvie-inc-stock-about-crash-2015-04-02 | nan | nan | AbbVie has undoubtedly been one of the best performing healthcare stocks since it was spun-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013:
However, many onlookers believe Abbott decided to jettison AbbVie as a way to isolate itself from the patent expiration of the anti-inflammatory drug Humira. Indeed, AbbVie is pretty much the "Humira stock" given that the drug composes over 60% of its total sales, making its patent expiration in late 2016 a major concern for investors.
Source: Johnson & Johnson
In a surprisingly rich deal, AbbVie's management recently decided to buyout Pharmacyclics for $21 billion, mainly for its top-notch cancer drug Imbruvica, as a means to smooth out the company's transition following Humira's patent expiration. In spite of this buyout, though, AbbVie's stock could still be in deep trouble. Here's why.
Source: AbbVie
Humira's revenues are under threat
With Humira's aforementioned patent expiration in the U.S. set for 2016, U.S. sales revenue are expected to drop by 20 to 30 percent in the 2017 to 2018 time frame. That would translate into about $1.5 to $2 billion in sales lost to copycat biosimilars, if they can get past the onerous regulatory process for biosimilars put in place by the Affordable Care Act.
On the bright side, Humira won't go off-patent in most of Europe until 2018, but the company does face a less rigorous pathway for biosimilar entry in the EU once the drug loses exclusivity. As such, AbbVie could see Humira revenues drop by $3 to $4 billion come 2019, relative to today's figures.
The Pharmacyclics buyout isn't ideal
Once you get past the impressive potential of Imbruvica, the Pharmacyclics buyout ends up looking like an accounting maneuver -- i.e., actual net profits probably won't even cover the cost of the acquisition before Pharmacyclics' orally administered BTK-inhibitor Imbruvica loses patent protection in 2026, especially when taking the interest on AbbVie's new debt into account.
Digging into this assertion a bit deeper, AbbVie is forecasting peak sales of the drug to hit $7 billion by 2020 . Given that AbbVie believes Imbruvica's profit margin could be improved to a stately 50% at some point, the company would thus have $3.5 billion left over, after accounting for marketing and manufacturing expenses. Then, Johnson & Johnson is owed about half of the net profits, meaning that AbbVie would book around $1.75 billion in profit -- and this is AbbVie's rather optimistic scenario.
The Street believes this final number will be closer to $1.5 billion in net profits at peak . Once you add interest on the new debt back into the mix, it would take AbbVie 15 to 16 years to recoup its initial investment in Pharmacyclics and Imbruvica at this rate. Unfortunately, the drug will lose patent protection well before AbbVie has even made its money back.
So, what AbbVie really did was pay $21 billion upfront in order to bolster its EPS once Humira loses patent protection. In short, the EPS should look acceptable going forward because of Imbruvica's sales revenue, but this is akin to running as fast as you can just to stay in the same place.
Imbruvica's peak sales projections are questionable
Cancer drugs are drawing the ire of payers right now. After successfully forcing Gilead Sciences to slash the price of its hep C drugs, top pharmacy benefits managers like Express Scripts are hoping to do the same thing with costly cancer treatments.
Breakthrough treatments such as Imbruvica may be able to maintain premium pricing levels. But the drug is set to face serious competition in the not-so-distant future, and payers almost certainly will use alternative therapies as leverage to lower costs.
Oddly enough, AbbVie's own experimental drug ABT-199 might hurt Imbruvica's pricing structure, if approved. And Gilead Sciences' Idelalisib, its BTK inhibitor GS-4059, and its PI3K delta inhibitor GS-9901 are all serious threats to Imbruvica's ultimate commercial potential.
Making matters worse, there are several BTK inhibitors in development across the biopharma landscape that are targeting nearly identical indications (i.e., B-cell malignancies) as Imbruvica. Some of these experimental drugs should eventually reach the market, especially since they are targeting the same basic mechanism as Imbruvica.
What's key to understand is that the current revenue models for Imbruvica -- at least those that I've seen -- do not account for the potential of huge price decreases or the impact of early to midstage rival therapies. Rather, they assume that Imbruvica's stellar clinical profile will allow it to command a premium pricing structure going forward and give it an economic moat against would-be competitors.
As the hep C drug wars have clearly shown, this is probably a highly unlikely scenario, as big pharma enters a new reality where payers have the power to leverage their formularies. As a further example, GlaxoSmithKline relied on similar faulty assumptions for its new respiratory medicines Anoro and Breo Ellipta, only to get stung by U.S. payers in a big way. The net result has been a huge price decrease, massive layoffs, and a revised outlook.
Foolish takeaways
There is a real possibility that AbbVie ends up booking less than a billion in profits from this newly acquired drug at peak -- all for the sake of dressing up its EPS post-Humira patent expiration. So, to make its money back, the drugmaker must be putting an awful lot of faith in Pharmacyclics' clinical pipeline.
In the near term, though, AbbVie's EPS is likely going to tank because of the negative impacts of a $21 billion acquisition, and no meaningful revenue upswing to offset it. After the second quarter of this year when this deal wraps up, AbbVie should thus start posting net losses for multiple consecutive quarters. And that's the underlying reason why AbbVie's shares could tank in 2015.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Is AbbVie Inc. Stock About to Crash? originally appeared on Fool.com.
George Budwell owns shares of AbbVie Inc. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Foolish takeaways There is a real possibility that AbbVie ends up booking less than a billion in profits from this newly acquired drug at peak -- all for the sake of dressing up its EPS post-Humira patent expiration. AbbVie has undoubtedly been one of the best performing healthcare stocks since it was spun-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013: However, many onlookers believe Abbott decided to jettison AbbVie as a way to isolate itself from the patent expiration of the anti-inflammatory drug Humira. Indeed, AbbVie is pretty much the "Humira stock" given that the drug composes over 60% of its total sales, making its patent expiration in late 2016 a major concern for investors. | Source: Johnson & Johnson In a surprisingly rich deal, AbbVie's management recently decided to buyout Pharmacyclics for $21 billion, mainly for its top-notch cancer drug Imbruvica, as a means to smooth out the company's transition following Humira's patent expiration. Source: AbbVie Humira's revenues are under threat With Humira's aforementioned patent expiration in the U.S. set for 2016, U.S. sales revenue are expected to drop by 20 to 30 percent in the 2017 to 2018 time frame. The Pharmacyclics buyout isn't ideal Once you get past the impressive potential of Imbruvica, the Pharmacyclics buyout ends up looking like an accounting maneuver -- i.e., actual net profits probably won't even cover the cost of the acquisition before Pharmacyclics' orally administered BTK-inhibitor Imbruvica loses patent protection in 2026, especially when taking the interest on AbbVie's new debt into account. | Source: Johnson & Johnson In a surprisingly rich deal, AbbVie's management recently decided to buyout Pharmacyclics for $21 billion, mainly for its top-notch cancer drug Imbruvica, as a means to smooth out the company's transition following Humira's patent expiration. The Pharmacyclics buyout isn't ideal Once you get past the impressive potential of Imbruvica, the Pharmacyclics buyout ends up looking like an accounting maneuver -- i.e., actual net profits probably won't even cover the cost of the acquisition before Pharmacyclics' orally administered BTK-inhibitor Imbruvica loses patent protection in 2026, especially when taking the interest on AbbVie's new debt into account. Then, Johnson & Johnson is owed about half of the net profits, meaning that AbbVie would book around $1.75 billion in profit -- and this is AbbVie's rather optimistic scenario. | Source: Johnson & Johnson In a surprisingly rich deal, AbbVie's management recently decided to buyout Pharmacyclics for $21 billion, mainly for its top-notch cancer drug Imbruvica, as a means to smooth out the company's transition following Humira's patent expiration. The Pharmacyclics buyout isn't ideal Once you get past the impressive potential of Imbruvica, the Pharmacyclics buyout ends up looking like an accounting maneuver -- i.e., actual net profits probably won't even cover the cost of the acquisition before Pharmacyclics' orally administered BTK-inhibitor Imbruvica loses patent protection in 2026, especially when taking the interest on AbbVie's new debt into account. AbbVie has undoubtedly been one of the best performing healthcare stocks since it was spun-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013: However, many onlookers believe Abbott decided to jettison AbbVie as a way to isolate itself from the patent expiration of the anti-inflammatory drug Humira. |
26996.0 | 2015-04-02 00:00:00 UTC | Repros' Secondary Hypogonadism Drug Under FDA Review - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/repros-secondary-hypogonadism-drug-under-fda-review-analyst-blog-2015-04-02 | nan | nan | Repros Therapeutics Inc. 's RPRX new drug application (NDA) for its enclomiphene citrate product candidate, which was previously known as Androxal, has been accepted for review by the FDA. The company is looking to get the candidate approved for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism in overweight men wishing to restore normal testicular function. We expect investors to react positively to the news.
We remind investors that Repros had filed the NDA in February this year. We also note that the company is seeking New Chemical Entity status for the product in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Repros has made significant progress with its pipeline so far. Apart from enclomiphene citrate, the company has Proellex in its pipeline. Proellex is being developed for indications like uterine fibroids and endometriosis. The company initiated a couple of phase IIb efficacy studies on Proellex (both oral and vaginal administration) for the treatment of uterine fibroids in women who experience heavy vaginal bleeding due to these benign tumors in Dec 2014.
The company is also conducting a phase II study on Proellex (low-dose oral administration) for the treatment of endometriosis.
With no approved product in Repros' portfolio at the moment and enclomiphene citrate being the company's lead pipeline candidate, we expect investor focus to remain on the candidate's approval status, going forward.
AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market.
Repros currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. ACOR and Horizon Pharma plc HZNP . Both hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Click to get this free report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Repros Therapeutics Inc. 's RPRX new drug application (NDA) for its enclomiphene citrate product candidate, which was previously known as Androxal, has been accepted for review by the FDA. | Click to get this free report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Repros Therapeutics Inc. 's RPRX new drug application (NDA) for its enclomiphene citrate product candidate, which was previously known as Androxal, has been accepted for review by the FDA. | Click to get this free report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. With no approved product in Repros' portfolio at the moment and enclomiphene citrate being the company's lead pipeline candidate, we expect investor focus to remain on the candidate's approval status, going forward. | Click to get this free report REPROS THERAPEU (RPRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ACORDA THERAPT (ACOR): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. AbbVie's ABBV AndroGel is one of the currently available treatments for hypogonadism in the market. Apart from enclomiphene citrate, the company has Proellex in its pipeline. |
26997.0 | 2015-04-02 00:00:00 UTC | Why Repros Therapeutics, Inc. Shares Are Soaring | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-repros-therapeutics-inc-shares-are-soaring-2015-04-02 | nan | nan | Although we don't believe intiming the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares in Repros Therapeutics vaulted higher by 10% earlier today after announcing that the FDA had accepted its application for approval of its drug Androxal.
So What : Amid rising scrutiny of testosterone products, the FDA had previously offered up guidance to Repros regarding information necessary for an Androxal filing. In December, Repros reported that it had addressed the agency's questions and that it would file its Androxal application for approval with the FDA in Q1.
That filing for approval was submitted to the FDA on February 2nd, so it shouldn't be too shocking to learn that the FDA has officially accepted the application for Androxal, a treatment for hypogonadism in overweight men that can help restore normal testicular function.
Last September, Repros reported that Androxal had outperformed AbbVie 's testosterone gel Androgel during phase 3 trials. In those trials, more patients responded to Androxal than they did to Androgel, and Androxal delivered higher sperm concentration from baseline than Androgel.
Now What: The acceptance of the FDA filing for approval starts the clock on an eventual FDA decision on whether or not to approval Androxal. Typically, the FDA sets a date for this decision that is 10 months after it accepts the filing for approval.
The fact that Repros has finally ushered an application to the FDA for Androxal's approval is good news for investors, but that doesn't guarantee that the agency will approve the drug.
The FDA has been increasingly scrutinizing rising prescription trends for testosterone drugs and potential cardiac health risks associated with using them.
If Repros does eventually get an FDA green light, it could be a big win for the company given that Androgel's sales totaled $934 million last year and Repros' market cap is just $225 million. However, given that Androxal's approval isn't a given and the FDA has been viewing testosterone products less favorably of late, this company has more than its fair share of risk.
This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet
One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- click here for one stock to own when the Web goes dark.
The article Why Repros Therapeutics, Inc. Shares Are Soaring originally appeared on Fool.com.
Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned. Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may or may not have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Last September, Repros reported that Androxal had outperformed AbbVie 's testosterone gel Androgel during phase 3 trials. What: Shares in Repros Therapeutics vaulted higher by 10% earlier today after announcing that the FDA had accepted its application for approval of its drug Androxal. So What : Amid rising scrutiny of testosterone products, the FDA had previously offered up guidance to Repros regarding information necessary for an Androxal filing. | The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. Last September, Repros reported that Androxal had outperformed AbbVie 's testosterone gel Androgel during phase 3 trials. What: Shares in Repros Therapeutics vaulted higher by 10% earlier today after announcing that the FDA had accepted its application for approval of its drug Androxal. | Last September, Repros reported that Androxal had outperformed AbbVie 's testosterone gel Androgel during phase 3 trials. That filing for approval was submitted to the FDA on February 2nd, so it shouldn't be too shocking to learn that the FDA has officially accepted the application for Androxal, a treatment for hypogonadism in overweight men that can help restore normal testicular function. Now What: The acceptance of the FDA filing for approval starts the clock on an eventual FDA decision on whether or not to approval Androxal. | Last September, Repros reported that Androxal had outperformed AbbVie 's testosterone gel Androgel during phase 3 trials. What: Shares in Repros Therapeutics vaulted higher by 10% earlier today after announcing that the FDA had accepted its application for approval of its drug Androxal. However, given that Androxal's approval isn't a given and the FDA has been viewing testosterone products less favorably of late, this company has more than its fair share of risk. |
26998.0 | 2015-04-02 00:00:00 UTC | Pharmacyclics Begins Imbruvica Combination Cancer Study - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/pharmacyclics-begins-imbruvica-combination-cancer-study-analyst-blog-2015-04-02 | nan | nan | Pharmacyclics, Inc.PCYC announced the initiation of a phase Ib/II study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of Imbruvica in combination with AstraZeneca's AZN MEDI4736 in patients suffering from relapsed or refractory non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer.
The multi-center PCYC-1135-CA study is expected to enroll approximately 160 patients. We note that Pharmacyclics has an agreement with Janssen Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson JNJ company, for Imbruvica. While Johnson & Johnson markets Imbruvica in ex-U.S. territories, the two companies jointly commercialize Imbruvica in the U.S.
Imbruvica is Pharmacyclics' sole marketed product. The product gained FDA approval in January this year for all lines of therapy for the treatment of patients suffering from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM). This made Imbruvica the first and only FDA approved treatment for this indication.
Imbruvica is also approved for three other indications, including treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and CLL who have received at least one previous therapy and for CLL patients with a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17.
Meanwhile, Pharmacyclics is working on expanding Imbruvica's label further and is evaluating the drug for indications like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma among others.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, Imbruvica's net product revenues in the U.S. rose 31% sequentially to $185 million. For 2015, the company expects Imbruvica U.S. net product revenues to be approximately $1 billion, representing a year-over-year jump of 103%. The increase is expected to be driven by higher market penetration of the four approved indications.
Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion. The deal is expected to close in mid-2015.
Pharmacyclics has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care space is Theravance, Inc. THRX carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion. Click to get this free report THERAVANCE INC (THRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ASTRAZENECA PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The product gained FDA approval in January this year for all lines of therapy for the treatment of patients suffering from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM). | Click to get this free report THERAVANCE INC (THRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ASTRAZENECA PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion. For 2015, the company expects Imbruvica U.S. net product revenues to be approximately $1 billion, representing a year-over-year jump of 103%. | Click to get this free report THERAVANCE INC (THRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ASTRAZENECA PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion. While Johnson & Johnson markets Imbruvica in ex-U.S. territories, the two companies jointly commercialize Imbruvica in the U.S. Imbruvica is Pharmacyclics' sole marketed product. | Earlier this year, AbbVie ABBV entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacyclics in a deal valued at approximately $21 billion. Click to get this free report THERAVANCE INC (THRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ASTRAZENECA PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report PHARMACYCLICS (PCYC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The multi-center PCYC-1135-CA study is expected to enroll approximately 160 patients. |
26999.0 | 2015-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | Infinity Pharmaceuticals Exercises Duvelisib Royalty Option - Analyst Blog | ABBV | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/infinity-pharmaceuticals-exercises-duvelisib-royalty-option-analyst-blog-2015-04-01 | nan | nan | Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.INFI announced that it has exercised its option to buy out all future royalty obligations related to the sales of its candidate, duvelisib due to Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited TKPYY in oncology indications.
Infinity Pharma had purchased the option last year from Takeda for $5 million. The exercise fee for the option was $52.5 million. With Infinity Pharma electing to exercise the option, the company will no longer be obliged to pay Takeda tiered royalties ranging from 7-11% on worldwide net sales of duvelisib in oncology indications.
We note that Infinity Pharma has a collaboration agreement with AbbVie ABBV for the development and commercialization of duvelisib for oncology indications.
AbbVie and Infinity Pharma will jointly commercialize duvelisib in the U.S. and will share the potential profits or losses equally, while outside the U.S., AbbVie will be solely responsible for the development and commercialization of duvelisib. Infinity Pharma will receive tiered double-digit royalties (23.5% to 30.5%) on net sales of duvelisib following approval.
Currently, duvelisib is being evaluated in patients with previously treated follicular lymphoma (DYNAMO+R - phase III), patients with refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (DYNAMO - phase II) and patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (DUO - phase III).
We remind investors that earlier this year, Infinity Pharma received a duvelisib-related setback after the candidate failed to meet the primary endpoint in a phase II study. The company was developing duvelisib for the treatment of patients suffering from moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis.
Infinity Pharma carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care space is Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALNY holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. | We note that Infinity Pharma has a collaboration agreement with AbbVie ABBV for the development and commercialization of duvelisib for oncology indications. AbbVie and Infinity Pharma will jointly commercialize duvelisib in the U.S. and will share the potential profits or losses equally, while outside the U.S., AbbVie will be solely responsible for the development and commercialization of duvelisib. Click to get this free report ALNYLAM PHARMA (ALNY): Free Stock Analysis Report TAKEDA PHARMACT (TKPYY): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report INFINITY PHARMA (INFI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. | Click to get this free report ALNYLAM PHARMA (ALNY): Free Stock Analysis Report TAKEDA PHARMACT (TKPYY): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report INFINITY PHARMA (INFI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that Infinity Pharma has a collaboration agreement with AbbVie ABBV for the development and commercialization of duvelisib for oncology indications. AbbVie and Infinity Pharma will jointly commercialize duvelisib in the U.S. and will share the potential profits or losses equally, while outside the U.S., AbbVie will be solely responsible for the development and commercialization of duvelisib. | Click to get this free report ALNYLAM PHARMA (ALNY): Free Stock Analysis Report TAKEDA PHARMACT (TKPYY): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report INFINITY PHARMA (INFI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. We note that Infinity Pharma has a collaboration agreement with AbbVie ABBV for the development and commercialization of duvelisib for oncology indications. AbbVie and Infinity Pharma will jointly commercialize duvelisib in the U.S. and will share the potential profits or losses equally, while outside the U.S., AbbVie will be solely responsible for the development and commercialization of duvelisib. | We note that Infinity Pharma has a collaboration agreement with AbbVie ABBV for the development and commercialization of duvelisib for oncology indications. AbbVie and Infinity Pharma will jointly commercialize duvelisib in the U.S. and will share the potential profits or losses equally, while outside the U.S., AbbVie will be solely responsible for the development and commercialization of duvelisib. Click to get this free report ALNYLAM PHARMA (ALNY): Free Stock Analysis Report TAKEDA PHARMACT (TKPYY): Get Free Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report INFINITY PHARMA (INFI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
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