Market Currents

• Monday, November 16, 2009

• 08:00 AM Bristol-Myers (BMY) says it will spin off its stake in its nutritionals division, Mead Johnson (MJN), in a deal that could net as much as $6.5B. Earlier this year, Bristol-Myers sold 17% of Mead Johnson in an IPO offering. Comment!

• Monday, November 2, 2009

• 11:14 AM Supreme Court rejects Apotex's challenge to Plavix's patent, without comment. Plavix, an anti-clotting drug with yearly sales of more than $6B, was developed by Sanofi-Aventis (SNY -0.05%) and is co-marketed by Bristol-Myers (BMY +0.7%). 1 Comment

• Thursday, October 22, 2009

• 08:05 AM Bristol-Myers (BMY): Q3 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $5.49B (+4.4%) in-line. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable pre-market earnings: AUO, BDK, BG, BMY, CBE, CELG, CHKP, CIT, CNX, DAL, DHR, DO, DOW, EMC, ERIC, ESV, ETR, FITB, GR, HBAN, HOT, HSY, JBLU, JNS, KMB, LCC, LH, LM, MCD, MJN, MMM, MRK, NCR, NIHD, NUE, NVS, NYT, ORI, OXY, PDS, PLD, PM, PNC, POT, R, RAI, RGC, RS, RTN, RX, SGP, STI, SY, T, TASR, TIN, TMO, TRA, TRV, UNP, UPS, XRX, ZMH Comment!

• Tuesday, September 29, 2009

• 17:55 PM With markets up almost 50% since March, fund managers are generally treading carefully. Here are some stocks the group says may still have some juice: Commodities (RIG, STLD), healthcare (ABT, GILD), business spending (AMD, ASML), and top fliers that were left behind (BMY, VZ, WMT). 1 Comment

• Sunday, August 30, 2009

• 17:45 PM AstraZeneca's (AZN) experimental anticlotting heart drug Brilinta outperforms $8.6B seller Plavix (SNY, BMY) by 16% in a Phase III study released this weekend, while remarkably showing no increase in bleeding complications. Effient, a new contender from Eli Lilly (LLY), also outdid Plavix, but at the price of increased bleeding risk. 1 Comment

• Tuesday, August 18, 2009

• 11:25 AM U.S. Patent Office orders a re-examination of the patent for blockbuster anti-clotting drug Plavix - co-marketed by Sanofi-aventis (SNY -0.25%) and Bristol-Myers (BMY -0.05%) - citing new questions about the drug's patentability. But the re-exam typically takes up to two years, and Plavix's patent expires in 2011. Comment!

• Thursday, July 23, 2009

• 15:39 PM After Medarex (MEDX +89%) fetched a healthy premium from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY +3.1%), investors have begun looking at similar companies to see who's next up for bids: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN +8.8%)? Seattle Genetics (SGEN +5.6%)? Alexion (ALXN +7.6%)? Allos Therapeutics (ALTH +6.9%)? Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX +6.7%)? Dendreon (DNDN +6.6%)? Comment!
• 07:45 AM Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): Q2 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $5.4B (+3.5%) vs. $5.3B. Issues upside EPS guidance for FY '09 of $1.95-2.05 vs. prior guidance of $1.85-2.00. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday's open: ALXN, BG, BLL, BMY, CBE, CELG, CLS, CME, DHR, DO, ECA, EMC, ESI, ESV, F, FITB, FLIR, GR, HBAN, HOT, HSY, IGT, JBLU, KMB, LCC, LLL, MMM, NCR, NEM, NIHD, NOC, NUE, NYT, OMC, ORI, OXY, PLD, PM, PNC, POT, R, RAI, RS, RTN, RX, SIAL, SPNC, T, TIN, TMO, TRA, UNP, UPS, WYE, XRX, ZMH Comment!

• Wednesday, July 22, 2009

• 19:37 PM Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) has agreed to acquire Medarex (MEDX) for $16/share in cash - about $2.4B - saying it is gaining proven antibody discovery technology and rights to an immunotherapy the companies developed. Medarex closed +1.5% to $8.40. (BMY earnings preview) 1 Comment

• Friday, July 10, 2009

• 17:03 PM The FDA clears the blood thinner prasugrel, a drug developed by Eli Lilly (LLY) and Daiichi Sankyo, to be sold under the name Effient. The drug is expected to challenge Plavix, the world's No. 2 drug in sales, made by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) and Sanofi-Aventis. After hours: [[LLY]] +0.5%; [[BMY]] -0.6%. Comment!

• Tuesday, June 16, 2009

• 09:49 AM Sanofi-Aventis (SNY +1.6%) may be on the prowl for a mega pharma deal. Obvious targets include Bristol-Myers (BMY) and Amgen (AMGN), but smaller fry like Allergan (AGN) and Biogen Idec (BIIB) would be easier for SNY to digest without impairing its investment-grade credit rating. Comment!

• Monday, June 1, 2009

• 07:40 AM Elan (ELN) +9.6% premarket on continued reports it may sell a minority stake to Bristol-Myers (BMY). Comment!

• Saturday, May 30, 2009

• 01:05 AM Irish biotech Elan (ELN) is talking with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) about selling BMY a minority stake, it was revealed Friday. The deal is structured in a way that could be a precursor to a full takeover, according to the WSJ. [[ELN]] +21% after hours; [[BMY]] +1.79%. 2 Comments

• Monday, May 11, 2009

• 12:41 PM In a large clinical trial, AstraZeneca's (AZN) experimental heart pill Brilinta beats Plavix (marketed by SNY and BMY) at preventing heart attacks and strokes. Plavix was 2008's second biggest drug, with $8.6B in sales. AZN +6.1%. SNY -0.5%. BMY -0.7%. 1 Comment