VRX

Big News in Big Pharma

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Pfizer Held Talks to Acquire AstraZeneca “Pfizer Inc. (PFE), the world’s biggest drugmaker, held informal, now-discontinued talks with AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) about buying the London-based maker of asthma and heart drugs, said two people familiar with the matter… …The companies aren’t currently negotiating, said the people, who asked not to be identified. One said the talks happened several months ago and there are no plans to resume. The discussions were first reported yesterday by London’s Sunday Times, whose unnamed bank and industry sources said New York-based Pfizer made a tentative approach about a takeover valuing AstraZeneca at more than 60 billion pounds ($101 billion).” (Source: Bloomberg) To continue reading >> Valeant and Activist Investor Bill Ackman Pursue Allergan “Canada’s Valeant … Read more

In-Line Is Good Enough…for Today

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Tuesday brought a couple of interesting developments that showed sometimes in-line performance is good enough. Valeant Pharma (VRX)—fact sheet download here—surged more than 10% in trading Tuesday as it spoke favorably about its long-term ambitions. Though fourth-quarter financial guidance in the presentation was in-line with expectations, the company’s outlook for 2014 and its intermediate-term goal to become one of the world’s top five pharma companies (by market capitalization) by the end of 2016 caught investor’s attention. We don’t think saying such a noble goal is a reason for its stock price to appreciate, but the company’s other strategic priorities are worth noting. We think the “one significant deal” highlighted below may potentially refer to a future purchase of or a … Read more

Merger Rumors Helping Best Ideas Portfolio Holdings

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On Friday, rumors of Dish Network (DISH) and DirecTV (DTV) tying the knot sent shares of both firms higher during the trading session. The potential tie-up is nothing new; we had profiled the potential deal in March this year, but the re-hashing of the idea has some market participants excited. The anti-trust hurdles will be significant for this deal to happen, but it looks like the Department of Justice is warming up to allowing consolidation if recent progress of the merger between AMR Corp (AAMRQ) and US Airways (LCC) is any indication. We love the increased leverage over content creators, the significant cost savings, and the additional financial flexibility that a Dish Network/DirecTV merger would bring. We would expect the … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

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This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

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

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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

Assessing Reactions to Trump’s Victory

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Image Source: Gage Skidmore Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America. Let’s dig into some of the reactions across the market. We’re keeping our cool. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA The global markets often don’t know what to make of surprises, a characteristic that was on full display as news came rolling in that Donald Trump would soon become the 45th President of the United States, “trumping” Secretary Hillary Clinton in a decisive electoral college victory, despite the popular vote eventually going to the Democratic candidate. In the wee hours of the morning Wednesday, November 9, major markets across the globe were in shock, showing red almost across the board. At one … Read more

Reflecting on Recent Report Updates: Favorites in an Overheated Market and Other Themes

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It’s been some time since we’ve updated members on our recent fair value estimate updates. Let’s take a look at the opportunities that exist in some of our favorite portfolio holdings, as well as some key themes driving recent fair value estimate changes across our coverage universe. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA The frothiness of the market has shown little regard for historical valuation norms, and the number of stocks moving to a 1 or 2 on the Valuentum Buying Index is growing as valuations become stretched across our coverage universe. For the first time in Valuentum’s history, there is now not one stock that registers a 9 or 10 (a top rating) on the Valuentum Buying Index. … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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