SFOSF

Steris Ties the Knot with Cantel Medical

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Image Shown: Cantel Medical Corp is getting bought out by Steris PLC through a cash-and-stock deal. The image up above highlights Cantel Medical’s promising long-term growth outlook, though its performance in 2020 was subdued due to headwinds created by the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. In our view, Steris was attracted to Cantel Medical’s improving outlook (the latter started to stage an impressive rebound in the second half of calendar year 2020) and the ability for the combined firm to generate substantial synergies. Image Source: Cantel Medical Corp – December 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On December 2, we highlighted (link here) the ongoing turnaround at Cantel Medical Corp (CMD) and noted that “we (thought) Cantel Medical is one for the … Read more

Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine Not a Catalyst for Portfolio Changes

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Image: BioNTech. Next Generation Immunotherapy Presentation, October 2020. By Brian Nelson, CFA The world received great news this week that the days of this terrible COVID-19 pandemic may finally be numbered. On November 9, Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) announced that “their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against COVID-19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.” Here is what Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla had to add with respect to the development: Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19. We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development … Read more

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Race

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Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has devasted the global economy (though things are starting to improve) and has fundamentally altered daily human life. According to a draft report from the World Health Organization (‘WHO’), there were 29 COVID-19 vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials as of August 13 along with 138 other candidates undergoing preclinical evaluation. It is a race against the clock. Unfortunately, as of this writing on August 18, there have been ~170,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the US alone according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’). We are optimistic that one of the many “shots on … Read more