Inside AbbVie: A Look at a New Pharmaceutical Giant

On January 1, medical giant Abbott (click ticker for report: ) will start trading as two firms, Abbott and AbbVie. The companies will form two distinct, publicly-traded businesses, allowing the market to value each company separately and uniquely. Pharmaceuticals will be housed in AbbVie, while medical diagnostics, baby food, and generic drugs will remain a part of Abbott. Let’s first dig into AbbVie. We’ll have a follow up article on the new Abbott in coming days. AbbVie Led by Humira Headlining the new pharmaceuticals business is the blockbuster drug Humira, which had over $7.9 billion in sales in 2011 alone. Though originally approved for rheumatoid arthritis in 2003, the drug has been approved to treat Crohn’s disease, plaque psoriasis, ulcerative … Read more

Top Research and Ideas You May Have Missed

Is Quant Value Giving Intrinsic Value Investors a Bad Name? Surely, you don’t believe Warren Buffett’s “style” is out of favor? By Brian Nelson, CFA I need to make sure that you’re aware of something very important. The media and perhaps many investment professionals define the concept of “value” as companies with low price-to-book (P/B) ratios, and the concept of “growth” as companies with high price-to-book ratios. This definition of “value” and “growth” and their corresponding returns have been magnified in writings throughout the media and across quantitative research, even in prestigious journals. Warren Buffett has been rallying against most quantitative applications and how “growth” and “value” are defined in popular media and quantitative research for decades.  Here’s one of the Oracle’s most … Read more

The Dividend Cushion Meets the Dividend Aristocrats

By Brian Nelson, CFA At Valuentum, we know that forward-looking dividend analysis and opinion is all that matters for most income investors. That’s why we’ve provided the following screen of key constituents in the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) and their forward-looking Dividend Cushion ratio. After all, the past is just the past. The future is what counts. The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF is a fund that tracks the the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index, which is “designed to measure the performance of the highest dividend-yielding S&P Composite 1500 Index constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 20 consecutive years.” To access either the 16-page stock report or the dividend report of each firm in the following modified ‘Aristocrats’ … Read more

Great Year for (Our) High Yield Dividend Ideas! Inquire about the High Yield Dividend Newsletter!

“When I highlighted my concerns about MLPs years ago, we were doubted, but we ended up being right. When we warned about the value factor, we were told the quants had solved the market, but we ended up being right, with the quant factor having its worst year in 2020 in history. We called the COVID-19 crash and highlighted opportunities for dollar cost averaging near the March 2020 bottom. We were bullish on the huge upswing in 2021, and we avoided the worst areas of 2022 to the point where our publishing suite is doing fantastic this year, if not “outperforming.” When I highlighted the second edition of the book Value Trap, our team released a press release warning about the 60/40 … Read more

Competitive Pressures Not Going Away for Teva

The end of the patent life of a lucrative product can often lead to significant legal strife as aspiring biosimilar equivalents jockey for exclusivity. We have found the recent aggressive move by Mylan noteworthy in our ongoing coverage of Teva’s recent struggles. On a separate but related note, the settlement between Amgen and Abbvie underscores the volatile nature of maneuvers conducted in order to extend the patent life of a highly successful product. By Alexander J. Poulos and Kris Rosemann Make no bones about it, the former Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio idea in Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) did not work out as planned. The company was “added” to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in mid-2013 at $41.22 and was a strong … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

Dow Laggard Walgreens Boots Alliance Yields North of 5%; Has Raised Dividend for 47 Consecutive Years

Image: Walgreens Boots Alliance’s shares have been pummeled during 2022. Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA When Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)–forward estimated dividend yield of ~5.3%– reported first-quarter fiscal 2023 results January 5, operating performance wasn’t pretty. Sales from continuing operations dropped 1.5% in the quarter, while adjusted earnings per share fell 30.8% to $1.16 per share due to weakness at AllianceRX Walgreens from difficult comps related to COVID-19 vaccines. Its predecessor company, Walgreen Co., used to be a clean “story.” Then, the firm bought Alliance Boots several years ago, and shares have languished for the better part of a decade now, after completing that transaction. Dealmaking, a dwindling stake in AmerisourceBergen (ABC) and liabilities related to the opioid … Read more

Which Mid-Stage Biotech Can Grow Into the Next Large Cap Biotech Behemoth?

Image Source: Steven Depolo The biotech field is on the cutting edge of scientific research. The production of new therapies often positively affects the share price of these innovative companies as long-term revenue and earnings expectations become embedded in the stock price. Let’s take a look at several mid-stage biotechs that may grow into dominant players. By Alexander J. Poulos The application of ETFs in investment strategies has gained widespread adoption during the past decade. Though the blind use of ETFs—buying a basket of stocks at any price—comes with myriad risks, there are certain advantages in that some ETFs offer desired exposure to certain themes or sectors. When it comes to biotech, the most liquid biotech ETF is the iShares Nasdaq … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending October 27

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending October 27. 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 1st Constitution Bancorp (FCCY): now $0.06 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Abaxis (ABAX): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. AbbVie (ABBV): now $0.71 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.64. AFLAC (AFL): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.43. Agnico Eagle (AEM): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Alliance Holdings (AHGP): now $0.735 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.73. Alliance Resource … Read more