Brian Nelson

Novartis Is Building a Significant Cardiovascular Franchise

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Image shown: The performance of Novartis since the beginning of 2014. One of the more interest times to consider speculating in the biotech/pharmaceutical space is in advance of the identification of the full potential of the clinical pipeline. Once investors recognize the full “value” of an entity’s pipeline, they often bid the company’s equity price higher well in advance of what traditional near-term fundamental metrics might indicate. The results recently released by Novartis have significantly solidified its clinical pipeline, in our view. Let’s take a look. By Alexander J. Poulos Canakinumab The path a molecule follows moving from the realm of theory through the various phases of clinical trials is often fraught with peril. Often, as the molecule is tested … Read more

Random Musings: Retail, REITs, BlackBerry, and More

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Image shown: Best Buy’s resiliency in the face of competition from Amazon. Let’s cover some recent news. By Brian Nelson, CFA The markets have been relatively flattish the past week or so, but that may not mean much. They could still be digesting some of the big gains thus far in 2017 before potentially staging their next move. At the close June 26, the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), a proxy for the S&P 500 stood at $243.29. For some reason, I felt it important to make note of this level, as if it were an important one. Things have been very quiet for a long time now, and I get the feeling that an inflection point may be … Read more

An Overview on Roche Holdings

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Source: Roche The healthcare industry remains a global enterprise with world-class companies working towards new treatments. Let’s have a look at the prospects of Roche Holdings. By Alexander J. Poulos Overview Roche Holdings (RHHBY) is far from a household name in the US, yet it remains one of the top pharmaceutical companies in Europe. When reviewing the prospects of Roche, we could not help but draw the comparison to the old Abbott Labs (ABT) before splitting off Abbvie (ABBV). The holding company houses a world-class diagnostics division with one of its main consumer products being the Accu-Chek Blood Glucose Test Strips. The diagnostic group can be viewed from the perspective of a slow and steady earnings producer with incremental innovation … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 23

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending June 23. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week ALPS | Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETF (SWIN): now $0.05305 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03923. ALPS Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR): now $0.2405 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15615. ALPS Emerging Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (EDOG): now $0.312 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.095. ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL): now $0.32887 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27069. ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (IDOG): … Read more

Best Ideas, Dividend Growth Newsletter Alerts and More

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Image Shown: The stock price performance of Boeing. Let’s take a look at recent news from newsletter portfolio holdings. We’re also parting with a “trade” we never should have made in the first place, and we’re letting go of one of our favorite restaurants in light of deteriorating technicals. This and more… By Brian Nelson, CFA Aside from predicting the ongoing inflation of the current equity market bubble in the US so far in 2017, we also thought crude oil prices (USO) would continue their recovery. Unfortunately, this hasn’t exactly worked out, and US crude oil prices have now entered a “bear market,” now falling below $43 per barrel. Are we saying that we know where crude oil prices are … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 16

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending June 16. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. Capital Southwest (CSWC): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Caterpillar (CAT): now $0.78 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.77. El Paso Electric (EE): now $0.335 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMAO): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. FedEx (FDX): now $0.50 per share quarterly … Read more

Amazon To Buy Whole Foods: Not Creative Destruction, Just Destruction

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Image Source: Mike Mozart Amazon announced plans to buy Whole Foods. We’re viewing the news as affirmation of our decision to stay largely away from retail exposure in the newsletter portfolios. We think a bidding war for Whole Foods is possible, mostly to keep it and its real estate out of the hands of Amazon, potentially setting up for a true “winner’s curse” scenario. The winner will overpay. By Brian Nelson, CFA We’re not pleased, but then again, it’s okay. Amazon (AMZN) announced June 16 that it will buy high-end grocer Whole Foods (WFM) for $42 per share in cash. Though we mentioned that Amazon was expanding into the grocery store market anecdotally, we must say that it still is … Read more

I CARE

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Image Shown: The S&P 500 from early 2009 through today, June 15, 2017. By Brian Nelson, CFA There it is — the upward-sloping chart of the S&P 500 (SPY) since the March 2009 panic bottom. What a sight to see… The past 8 years have marked an incredible bull market in US equities and one for the record books in many instances. The drivers behind the multi-year rally have been many — ultra-low interest rates and their magnifying impact on equity valuations, strong earnings growth from the doldrums of the Financial Crisis, and the proliferation of passive and dividend-growth strategies de-emphasizing the price-versus-value equation. “Money,” it seems, is chasing stocks at any price, and most of the trading on exchanges … Read more

Bristol-Myers Squibb Disappoints

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Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb have come under intense selling pressure off the heels of disappointing performance at ASCO. Let’s examine the situation. By Alexander J. Poulos What is ASCO? ASCO is an acronym for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the premier organization for oncologists. ASCO typically holds its annual meeting in early June, which holds particular appeal for biotech (IBB) investors. Biotech outfits will often use the annual meeting for a full disclosure of study data, which can have an outsized impact on equity prices. The ASCO effect on Bristol-Myers Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) was the darling of the 2013 ASCO event, revealing stunning data for its flagship compound Opdivo. The equity took off leading into and well after the … Read more