Market Currents

• Sunday, November 22, 2009

• 17:46 PM Not to be left out, Nestle (NSRGY.PK) is thought to be considering a bid for Cadbury (CBY) to challenge Kraft's (KFT) $16.7B hostile offer and a potential counterbid by Hershey (HSY). One analyst says Nestle could "blow Kraft out of the water" if it ops to execute an option to sell its majority stake in Alcon (ACL) to Novartis (NVS) for more than $20B come January. 4 Comments

• Thursday, October 22, 2009

• 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!

• Friday, October 16, 2009

• 14:16 PM The Alabama Supreme Court overturns fines of more than $274M levied against AstraZeneca (AZN), Novartis (NVS) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for allegedly tweaking drug prices to overcharge state Medicaid. 3 Comments

• Monday, September 21, 2009

• 09:17 AM Amgen's (AMGN +2% premarket) Phase III trial of its under-the-skin osteoporosis drug denosumab delayed skeletal-related events (fractures etc.) for 20.6 months vs. 16.3 months for intravenously-injected rival Zometa (NVS -1%). (PR) Comment!

• Sunday, August 16, 2009

• 18:20 PM Novartis (NVS) countersues GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for patent infringement in retaliation for Glaxo's ongoing legal action against Novartis. Their dispute focuses on techniques used to produce vaccines that prevent childhood illnesses. Comment!
• 04:59 AM Barron's handpicks twelve high-quality stocks that could rally 20% in the next year, including Microsoft (MSFT), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Novartis (NVS). 2 Comments

• Thursday, July 16, 2009

• 07:06 AM Novartis (NVS): Q2 EPS of $0.90 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $10.5B (-1.7%) vs. $10.2B. (Novartis financial report (.pdf)) Comment!

• Wednesday, July 8, 2009

• 09:05 AM Amgen (AMGN) +16% premarket after announcing its experimental bone strengthening medicine, denosumab, demonstrated superior efficacy compared to potential rival Zometa (NVS) in a pivotal Phase-3 head-to-head trial. The results may allow Amgen to charge 20% more than anticipated. Comment!

• Monday, June 29, 2009

• 06:48 AM Novartis (NVS) is reportedly in talks to buy parts of Elan (ELN), including its key multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri and Alzheimer's disease drug pipeline, but a final deal is still 'some way off.' Premarket: NVS -1.4%, ELN +3.9%. Comment!

• Wednesday, June 24, 2009

• 11:03 AM Despite solid response from institutional investors, Novartis's (NVS) bid to aquire 39% of its India subsidiary has failed. Had it been successful, NVS would have boosted its stake to above 90% - enough to have the unit delisted. Shares -0.5%. Comment!

• Friday, June 19, 2009

• 08:29 AM FDA approves the sale of Novartis' (NVS) Ilaris, the company's first drug in its push to focus on the genetic triggers of disease. It marks a shift in the industry towards developing drugs for niche diseases through genetics-focused research. Comment!

• Thursday, June 18, 2009

• 08:12 AM Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) pledges to donate 100M doses of swine flu vaccine to developing countries. Earlier this week, Novartis (NVS) refused to give vaccines away for free. Comment!

• Monday, June 15, 2009

• 14:05 PM After years of speculation, a new study suggests stimulant medications - specifically Ritalin (CELG, NVS) and Concerta (JNJ) - used to treat ADD may have played a role in sudden, unexplained deaths in children. 1 Comment
• 11:09 AM Novartis' (NVS -2%) increasingly costly Alcon deal (ACL) is squeezing Novartis' cash supply just as the pharmaceutical industry goes on an acquisition spree. Comment!
• 08:46 AM Rebuffing WHO requests, Novartis (NVS) refuses to give free H1N1 vaccines to poor countries, but says it will consider a discount. "If you want to make production sustainable, you have to create financial incentives," explains Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella. 1 Comment

• Wednesday, May 20, 2009

• 08:45 AM Novartis (NVS) will pay €925M to buy the injectable generic cancer drugs business of Austria's EBEWE Pharma, and says it may pursue other similar deals in its planned diversification away from brand-name treatments. NVS +0.8% premarket. Comment!