PFE

Video: Quants! You’re NOT Measuring VALUE and Nelson’s Theory of Universal Value

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President of Investment Research Brian Nelson defines the concept of universal value and shows how quantitative statistical methods are inextricably linked to those of fundamental, financial, business-model related analysis. Value does not exist in respective process vacuums! Value is universal. Find out why. Running time: ~10 minutes.  Tickerized for Valuentum’s stock and ETF coverage universe. Transcript Hi this is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities, and this is the tenth edition of a series that I call “Off the Cuff,” where I get in front of the camera and I talk for ten minutes. This is what we have to talk about today. We have to talk about this concept: The Theory of Universal Value. Value does not exist in vacuums … Read more

Divestitures Sweeping Through the Pharmaceutical Industry

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Image Source: Paul Sableman There has been a notable rise in the intent of the old guard in the pharmaceutical realm to divest some non-core assets via spin-offs into new, standalone companies. We believe we are on the cusp of a trend of simplification which we feel will aid in growing the top line sustainably, something that has become notoriously difficult for big pharma. By Alexander J. Poulos Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (LLY) mentioned on its recent quarterly conference call the need to explore strategic alternatives for its Elanco animal health unit, which is suffering from sales deceleration due to a decrease in end-user demand for its products. Elanco posted sales of $2.29 billion during the first three quarters of … Read more

Novartis Gearing Up for Growth

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Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Novartis continues to grow its free cash flow stream while producing a string of products still in the infancy of their respective growth curves. The pharma/biotech realm remains bedeviled with patent issues that can disrupt cash flow generation once protection is lost, causing us to look for companies positioned for a fresh leg of growth. To that end, let’s take a look at Novartis’ pipeline, near-term potential, and how it relates to its dividend health. By Alexander J Poulos Alcon Division In Novartis’ (NVS) third quarter of 2017, results released October 24, its Alcon division posted an impressive constant-currency revenue jump of 7% from the year-ago period and a 23% year-over-year increase in core operating … Read more

An Overview on Valuing Junior Biotech Companies — Does Clovis Fit the Bill?

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The biotech industry remains one of the most fascinating yet perplexing industries for investors. Anecdotes of the entry-stage biotech with a home-run new therapy are often romanticized, but the reality is the vast majority of molecules fail in various stages of clinical testing.  Due to the boom-bust nature of the industry, many are wary of investing in the space, and traditional valuation metrics are not as useful due to a large number of such speculative entities being in the pre-revenue stage. With this in mind, let’s take a glimpse into our thought process when evaluating upstart biotech companies. By Alexander J. Poulos Before we dig in, we feel a word of caution is warranted. Entry-stage biotechs (IBB) inherently come with … Read more

Post-Earnings Update: AbbVie

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Image Source: Global Panorama AbbVie’s top-line performance has been relatively strong (unlike its big pharma peers), translating into a generous dividend–further enhancing the appeal of the equity. But is the company’s attractive fundamentals about to change? Let’s take a look at AbbVie’s fundamentals following its second-quarter report, released July 28. By Alexander J. Poulos Overview One of the main appeals of big-pharma companies such as AbbVie (ABBV) and peers Merck (MRK), Eli Lilly (LLY), and Pfizer (PFE) is their comparatively attractive dividend-yield potential as high margins generated from patent-protected compounds lead to internally generated cash flows above the funding needs of the business. As long as big pharma firms can continue to churn out a steady stream of new products … Read more

Generic Drug Price Deflation Continues to Weigh on Shares of Teva

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Shares of former Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio idea Teva Pharmaceuticals have come under renewed selling pressure after reporting weak quarterly results due largely to deflationary price pressures felt in the generic drug division. Teva has been relatively powerless in stopping the trend. We had removed the shares from the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio well before the last leg down, and the Dividend Cushion ratio warned of tremendous risk to the sustainability of the dividend far in advance. By Alexander J. Poulos and Kris Rosemann Generic Drug Deflation Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) maintains its position as one of the world’s largest manufacturer of generic medications, but the marketplace for a generic drug differs from the market dynamics of the branded space. We view … Read more

Video: Explaining the Valuentum Buying Index

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The Valuentum Buying Index (VBI) stands on the shoulders of giants in finance in uncovering investment ideas.  Brian Nelson, CFA: This is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities. Today, I would like to talk about our Valuentum Buying Index, the stock selection methodology that we use and apply across our entire coverage universe. But before I get into some of the specifics, I’d like to provide more or less a summary. Essentially what the Valuentum Buying Index does is it highlights undervalued stocks that are going up in price. Undervalued stocks with good momentum…Value-ntum stocks. So, at the core, the Valuentum Buying Index tries to find stocks that we think have a very strong likelihood of equity price appreciation. It breaks … Read more

A Review of Johnson and Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Division

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Image Source: J&J Let’s take a deep dive into Johnson and Johnson’s pharmaceutical division Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Janssen traditionally serves as an area of clinical innovation adding an element of growth to the more stable product categories such as consumer health. However, there may be a few cracks in the Janssen revenue stream that could make growth at J&J harder to come by over the next few years. By Alexander J. Poulos Overview The venerable Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) has earned the sterling reputation that the firm has built over the countless decades of steady performance. J&J is a bedrock of the health care sector sporting a sterling credit rating along with the ability to seemingly consistently churn out revenue and … Read more

Amgen’s Pipeline Continues to Disappoint

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Image Source: Amgen The ability to generate commercially-viable products via the clinical pipeline is crucial to grow profits and offset revenue declines from the loss of patent protection. We remain unimpressed with the progress shown thus far by biotech stalwart Amgen. Let’s review the clinical pipeline along with a consideration of the recently-released earnings report. By Alexander J. Poulos Clinical Pipeline We believe the three most promising molecules in Amgen’s (AMGN) pipeline in order of importance are Repatha, Evenity, and Erenumab. Amgen’s ability to develop and market these products will go a long way to shore up the top-line revenue as older products begin to face biosimilar challenges that continue to sap revenue and profits. Let’s examine each in further … Read more