Resetting Your Mental Model

Image Source: affen ajlfe A version of this article was originally published on our website October 6, 2013. Having the right mental model and using the right information can be the reason why you win or lose in investing. “What is the definition of timeliness? Many believe it is getting information to investors as quickly as possible after an event, or updating something every single day or week for immaterial information. I believe in a different definition of timeliness. I believe timeliness is using all information available in a mosaic approach to accurately predict the event before it even happens. Take Kinder Morgan as the latest example. We were the only ones predicting what was going to happen before it did. To investors, … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Pharmaceuticals (Biotech/Generic) Industry

Image Source: Open Grid Structure of the Pharmaceuticals Industry The pharma (generic/other) industry is composed of makers of both brand and generic drugs. Intellectual property protection remains vital to the successful commercialization of safe/effective medicines, avoidance of pricing pressures, and offers brand firms competitive advantages over the life of such patents. Firms in the biotechnology industry face no certain future. Drug development is complex, difficult, and risky, and failure rates are high. Competition can be fierce when biosimilar products exist, though patents are material competitive advantages. We like the group, but the timing of expiration of patents should be watched closely. We’ve optimized our health care coverage, the reports of which can be found here.

Health Care Sector Remains Hot

Image Shown: The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF, a holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios, has been on an upward tear over the past several years. Strong macro tailwinds combined with the ability for industries within the health care sector to generate meaningful shareholder value have been key to supporting strong capital appreciation of equities operating in the area of late. By Callum Turcan The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) is a top holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. We like the exposure and diversification to health care equities that XLV provides. XLV yields ~1.5% as of this writing. State Street Corp (STT) acts as … Read more

Biotech and Pharma Roundup

Image Source: e-Magine Art Some big news in the world of biotech and pharmaceuticals has come out this week, starting Monday October 21, that we want to get out in front of our members. In alphabetical order by ticker symbol: BIIB, BMY, MRK, NVS. By Callum Turcan Biogen Inc (BIIB) reported third quarter 2019 earnings on Tuesday October 22 that easily beat both top and bottom line estimates. That was partially due to strong sales at its SPINRAZA offering, which is used to treat spinal muscular atrophy. Shares of BIIB rocketed higher during the trading session as investors priced in the upside that Biogen’s Aducanumab treatment could generate, with the company announcing that it was going to ask the US … Read more

Elanco Buys Bayer’s Animal Health Unit, Gaining Scale and Greater Exposure to the Humanization of Pets” Trend”

Image Shown: Shares of Elanco Animal Health Inc (ELAN) sold off after the company announced on August 20 it was acquiring Bayer AG’s (BAYRY) animal health unit through a cash and deal stock deal worth $7.6 billion at the time the deal was announced. By Callum Turcan On August 20, Elanco Animal Health Inc (ELAN) agreed to acquire Bayer AG’s (BAYRY) animal health unit for $7.6 billion (at the time the deal was announced) through a cash and stock deal. That includes $5.3 billion in cash and $2.3 billion in stock, keeping in mind shares of ELAN initially shifted lower after the news. Bayer plans to exit its stake in Elanco over time as management seeks to rebuild the company’s … Read more

Mylan Surges, Why Fair Value Estimates Matter

Image Source: Mylan NV – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On July 29, Mylan NV (MYL) agreed to merge with Pfizer Inc’s (PFE) Upjohn unit to form a much larger and more diversified entity in the pharmaceutical industry, selling such products as Mylan’s EpiPen and Pfizer’s Viagra. Shares of MYL jumped by a double-digit percentage on the news, and we aren’t surprised given how Mylan has traded well below our $31 per share fair value estimate for some time now. What Mylan needed was a catalyst to get the market to take notice (of its estimated future free cash flows), and Pfizer seems to have offered it one by renewing investor interest in the name. Pro forma for this transaction, … Read more

In the News: Dividend Growth Still on Hold at General Mills After Strong Quarter, Avoiding FedEx and BMW After Warnings on Bottom-Line Weakness, and a Biogen as a Prime Example of Risks to Avoid in Biotech

General Mills raised bottom-line and free cash flow conversion expectations for fiscal 2019, but we’re not interested in shares as it continues to prioritize deleveraging over dividend growth in a slow growth environment. International corporations continue to weigh the impact of slowing macroeconomic activity and global trade tensions, as evidenced by FedEx and BMW slashing bottom-line expectations, and shares of Biogen have been rocked by news that it terminated two late-stage studies of a key Alzheimer’s treatment. By Kris Rosemann General Mills Turns in Positive Organic Sales Growth and Operating Margin Expansion Food products giant General Mills (GIS) turned in better-than-expected results in its fiscal 2019 third quarter report, released March 20, as organic sales growth advanced 1% on a … Read more

In The News: European Growth Concerns, Continued Weakness in Generic Pharma, Johnson & Johnson Enters Robotics Market

Let’s take a look at some of the top stories from February 13. Concerns over industrial production in Europe may present challenges to economic growth, generic pharma companies face material competition, and Johnson & Johnson gets into the robotics market. By Kris Rosemann Equities continue to benefit from optimism surrounding US-China trade talks, as President Trump recently stated a willingness to let the March 2 trade conflict resolution deadline slide, but industrial production in Europe, which fell at the greatest sequential rate since 2009 in December 2018, has caught the eye of many a market observer. Demand softness from China (FXI) is playing a role, and the usual suspects such as Greece, Italy (EWI), and uncertainty over Brexit (EWU) continue … Read more

Valuentum Stock Screeners

This article was sent to members via email December 29. That email can be accessed at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update with respect to Valuentum’s stock screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, or data that is important with respect to the investment decision-making process. We publish screens in each of the monthly newsletters, but we also provide a basic weekly screener for download on the left column of the website, “Download Weekly Stock Screener (xls) — login required.”   We also have other products. The more robust DataScreener, for example, is part of the quarterly Financial … Read more

Market Mayhem — Alerts for Members

During these extremely volatile times, it’s important to stay focused. On December 15, we informed all of our members to “Pay Attention.” Shortly thereafter, we notified members of the potential for a stock market technical breakdown. This morning, we offered a pre-market briefing about the importance of thinking about portfolio protection. For Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=e2406cd6-c113-4344-8731-493f33fc44a4&id=preview For High Yield Dividend Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=b3ba530f-38b3-489a-ac96-2961dca89c6b&id=preview For Exclusive members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=ba6d90c0-4433-48b2-9b8a-aac4ddf9006e&id=preview We’re here for any questions. Please just let us know how we can help! Kind regards, Brian Nelson, CFA  brian@valuentum.com