The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Pharmaceuticals Index Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index.
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Monday, May 6, 1:36 PM
Merck (MRK -1.3%) gets no love today from the FDA's approval of Liptruxet late Friday, as the stock is likely dragged down with the rest of the big pharma names on the back of a CNBC report that criticizes their earnings so far. The article points to the fact that pharmaceutical companies have seen a 4.7% contraction in earnings, and a 3.2% drop in revenue this quarter. Why? Morningstar's Damien Cover says there are two primary reasons: FX impact, especially from the yen, and intensified generic competition from patent losses.
Comment![Healthcare, On the Move]
Tuesday, April 16, 9:25 AM
There's not too many surprises in ETF action yesterday, with areas like the bond market (AGG), real estate (IYR), low volatility (SPLV), and pharmaceuticals (IHE) seeing big inflows, and small caps (IWM), energy (XLE), energy exploration (XOP), and materials (XLB) seeing a wave of cash exit.
Comment!
Monday, August 20, 2012, 4:24 PM
While 80% of S&P 500 stocks are above their 50-day moving average, all of the defensive sectors - Telecom, Consumer staples, Health care, Utilities - have readings below that. The most defensive of them all - Utilities - shows just 39% of the sector above the 50-day, a sharp change from just 2 weeks ago, when 90% were above. "The dynamic has clearly changed," writes Bespoke, with cyclical sectors now leading the charge.
7 Comments
Friday, August 17, 2012, 8:59 AM
Another graphic look (via ukarlewitz) at the recent rally which is notable for its rotation into roughed up sectors like Energy, Materials, Industrials, and Discretionary, and out of popular defensive plays like Utilities, Health Care, and Staples. Have the hedge funds been caught wrong-footed again?
2 Comments
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 11:28 AM
A graphic look at the rotation into neglected sectors - Energy (XLE), Discretionary (XLY), Cyclical (FCL), and Retail (XRT) are all moving higher the past few sessions, while the popular mREITs (represented by NLY), Utilities (XLU), Pharmaceuticals (IHE), and Staples (XLP) all sell off.
4 Comments
Monday, April 30, 2012, 5:20 AM
Pure pharmaceuticals players, like AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol-Myers (BMY) and Eli Lilly (LLY), are likely to face higher earnings pressure over the next three years than more-diversified firms like J&J (JNJ) or Bayer (BAYRY.PK), says Fitch. Cash-rich pure-players with a relatively weak R&D pipeline, like AZN, may be tempted to go on buying sprees.
Comment![Healthcare, Quick Ideas]
Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 1:29 PM
Express Scripts (ESRX +2.5%) says prescription drug spending fell to 2.7% growth in 2011 - the slowest pace in 18 years - due to the introduction of generic medicines that tempered price increases. The company notes that the average co-payment for consumers fell to $12.02 a prescription from $12.10 a year before.
Comment![Healthcare]
Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 10:04 AM
Push comes to shove as pricey life-saving cancer drugs run up against government austerity programs and private payers unwilling to share costs for drugs that run as high as $100K a year. While Big Pharma argues that advanced technology will save money on the development side, companies such as PFE, BMY, RHHBY, and BAYRY.PK run the risk of seeing reduced profits with government-mandated price cuts for their most expensive drugs.
4 Comments[Healthcare, Quick Ideas]
Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 2:33 PM
Downsizing: Only two of the top ten drugmakers increased their promotional spending last year, according to analysis from Cegedim Strategic Data. Overall, global investment on sales and marketing declined 3.4% to $92B.
Comment![Healthcare]
Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 12:01 PM
Research from Frost & Sullivan breathes some life into the potential for generic drug makers with its new projections that the global market for generics could tip the scales at $231B in 2017 - repping an annual growth rate of close to 10%. The biggest drivers for the stellar growth should be blockbuster drugs that fall off their patents and the "huge potential" for copycat drug sales in emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil.
Comment![Healthcare, Quick Ideas]
Friday, January 13, 2012, 1:35 PM
Affymax (AFFY -0.3%) CEO John Orwin says the days of biotech companies seeing their share price bid up on potential is over, as investors wait it out to see if firms hash out issues with reimbursements, regulatory hurdles, and safety concerns. "There was a time when products got full value prior to launch. I think we have now swung back in the other direction."
Comment![Healthcare]
Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 2:54 PM
Reuters' John Wasik identifies health care as a sector that will grow in 2012 on the strength of a long-term demographic trend that is pushing up demand for medical services, devices, and pharmaceuticals. He argues that while big pharma ETFs could see a gain, a focus on generic pharmaceutical names looks to be an even better bet as governments and companies look to cut costs. Big pharma ETFs: XPH, IHE, PJP, PPH, DRGS. Generic pharma firms: IPXL, MYL, PRX, TEVA, WPI, PRGO.
Comment![Healthcare, Quick Ideas]
Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 5:25 AM
It could be a very tough year for pharmaceutical firms, which face a slew of patent expiries and new costs from healthcare reforms. Market research firm CreditSights pegs Bristol-Myers (BMY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) as likely to be next year's hardest-hit pharmas, while Abbott (ABT) and J&J (JNJ) will remain relatively sheltered.
Comment![Healthcare]
Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 7:50 AM
Fitch is establishing a negative 2012 outlook for pharmaceutical companies, arguing soft demand, patent expirations, and government spending cuts will take a toll on the industry; the patent expirations (I, II, III) are seen affecting LLY, BMY, and PFE the most. Fitch also sees pharmas responding to these challenges by stepping up their M&A activity.
Comment![Healthcare, Quick Ideas, M&A]
Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 12:48 PM
Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson's take on Eli Lilly (LLY +3.3%) offers a surprisingly candid view on the roulette-like risks involved in betting on drug company stocks with his estimate that LLY could clear $9B in sales of solanezumab by 2020 or misfire completely with its investment. Anderson on the sector: "Eli Lilly and several of its competitors are willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on what is essentially a massive lottery ticket."
Comment![Healthcare, Quick Ideas]
Monday, November 7, 2011, 9:12 AM
Shares of Merck (MRK) nudge up 0.3% premarket after JPMorgan maintains an Overweight rating and a $44 price target along with a ringing endorsement. "While we are not expecting many major surprises on the R&D front... we see a number of interesting late-stage assets in the MRK pipeline and, importantly, continue to view Merck as having one of the strongest core portfolios in pharma."
Comment![Healthcare]