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Can Vertex Pharmaceuticals Dominate the Race to Treat Cystic Fibrosis?

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Tickerized for holdings in the XLV and IBB. Cystic Fibrosis is a rare disease that afflicts an estimated seventy-five thousand patients worldwide. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the first to market with a combination treatment to treat a portion of the overall patient population. Will Vertex win the race to bring forth a triple therapy to treat the vast majority of those afflicted? By Alexander J. Poulos Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a recessive genetic disorder. The patient that is afflicted will carry two copies of the cystic fibrosis conductance regulator protein (CFTR) gene. The CFTR gene allows the body to produce the CFTR protein, whose function is to remove chloride from the cells. Patients that have CF will suffer from a “thickening” … Read more

These Medical Instruments Won’t Heal Your Portfolio

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The medical instruments industry is a group characterized in part by diversity, and as such, there are ideas of all shapes and sizes. Let’s dig into two overvalued companies in the space and what put them in their current positions. By Alexander J. Poulos and Kris Rosemann The medical instruments industry has something to offer investors of all strategies. From growth candidates to defensive plays to dividend growth ideas, the medical instruments industry has you covered. However, we’re not seeing much valuation opportunity in the medical instruments industry at this point in time. The market’s advance post the election of Donald Trump has stretched many companies’ valuation metrics past historical norms, and this note intends to highlight two of the … Read more

Looking Closely at Zimmer Biomet

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Medical technology companies have taken their share of lumps as of late, but the long-term may be too bright for investors to ignore Zimmer Biomet’s shares. By Alexander J. Poulos and Brian Nelson, CFA The medtech field offers an intriguing combination of high-margin growth coupled with defensive characteristics as the end product is considered recession resistant. To add context, an individual who requires a knee transplant may wait a bit before having the surgery, but as the joint disintegrates the need will hasten irrespective of economic conditions. The ebbs and flows of the economic cycle have little to do with such a decision, in most cases. That said, the field remains fiercely competitive with many upstarts that have innovative technologies, … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 30

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending December 30. 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 Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM): now $0.125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Formula Systems (FORTY): now $0.48 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.34. Raymond James Financial (RJF): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Stryker (SYK): now $0.425 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.38. W.P. Carey (WPC): now $0.99 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.985. Firms Lowering Their Dividends This Week                                   Tortoise Index Solutions … Read more

Earnings Insight – Medtronic’s Free Cash Flow Story

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Let’s cover some ground on Medtronic’s (MDT) calendar third-quarter report, its second-quarter fiscal 2017 results. By Brian Nelson, CFA What management said: “Q2 revenue was disappointing and did not meet our expectations. We faced issues that affected our growth, including slower than expected revenue as we await new product introductions, particularly in CVG and Diabetes,” said Omar Ishrak, Medtronic chairman and chief executive officer. “Despite this revenue shortfall, we produced a strong improvement in operating margins and double digit constant currency earnings per share growth.” The scoop: Medtronic probably did more to frighten investors with its use of the word “disappointing” in its fiscal second-quarter press release, issued November 22, than anything fundamental. Fiscal second-quarter revenue increased 4%, or 3% … Read more

Pharma, Biotech and How to Consider Investing In It

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The Valuentum analyst team digs deep into recent trends in big pharma and biotech from the lofty pricing of drugs to political and competitive pressures to ETF considerations and beyond. ~10 mins. If you cannot view the podcast below, please view the transcript below or select the link here. Tickerized for holdings in the XLV and IBB. Brian Nelson, CFA Gilead’s (GILD) hepatitis C regimen, almost a hundred thousand dollars. Vertex’s (VRTX) cystic fibrosis drug — hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Have the drug companies lost their mind? This is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities, and today joining me is Mr. Kris Rosemann and Mr. Chris Araos — and we are going to talk everything healthcare, biotech… Mr. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 11

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending December 11. 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 Abbot Labs (ABT): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Avago Technologies (AVGO): now $0.44 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Buckle (BKE): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. Capella Education (CPLA): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Croghan Bancshares, Inc. (CHBH): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

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Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Surveying Fourth Quarter Earnings at Health Care Firms

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The broader equity markets have been under pressure for much of January, and while it may be tempting to consider completely exiting stock investing for a time, we’re staying the course with both of our actively-managed portfolios. We had been expecting a contraction in price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples across the broader market (see our outlook here), and the performance thus far in 2014 has not been surprising. In case you may have missed it, I sent out some very important thoughts over the weekend to keep in mind as uncertainty and volatility increase through the course of 2014: Stay focused on @Valuentum portfolio holdings (best ideas), #asset allocation (cash) in portfolios and #prudence in allocating new capital. — Brian Nelson, CFA … Read more

MAKO Receives a Tremendous Offer from Stryker; Is Intuitive Surgical Next?

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The M&A flurry continued Wednesday morning as medical devices giant Stryker (click ticker for report: ) announced it would acquire MAKO Surgical (MAKO) for $30 per share, or roughly $1.65 billion. The deal represents an 83% premium to MAKO’s Tuesday closing price, but the value remains below MAKO’s peak in late 2011 and early 2012. MAKO remains unprofitable, though the firm has experienced solid revenue expansion during the past few years, going from $34 million in revenue during 2009 to $103 million during 2012. The firm isn’t expected to earn a profit in 2013, though revenue is estimated to jump 23% from the year-ago period. Given existing conditions, MAKO might not turn a profit until at least 2015, in our … Read more