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Posted
Mar 10 2009, 03:07 AM
by
Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner site The Big Money.
Merger Monday is back. At least for Big Pharma. Merck (MRK) announced on Monday that it would buy rival Schering-Plough (SGP) for $41.1 billion in cash and stock, a deal the New York Times neatly sums up as being "all about the drugs." Such mega-mergers were to be expected after Pfizer (PFE) stumped up $68 billion to buy Wyeth in January. "But if Pfizer-Wyeth was driven in part by desperation, analysts said, for Merck the Schering deal may actually be a good opportunity to restock its medicine chest," the newspaper writes. Merck, with several patents expiring, would get access to successful Schering products like the prescription allergy spray Nasonex and to biotechnology drugs in development.
The Wall Street Journal focuses on the rapidly consolidating sector.
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Posted
Mar 10 2009, 10:11 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Shares of Schering-Plough (SGP) are up 4% Tuesday as investors smell opportunity. Merck (MRK) wants to buy the company for $41 billion, which some think is a little too low.
Perhaps a better bid could come in soon, say, from a certain Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)? Analysts at Credit Suisse think a bid can't be ruled out, although the possibility might only be in the 25% range. Johnson & Johnson isn't saying anything, but the company is closely watching the discussion because it makes the drug Remicade. Schering-Plough markets Remicade internationally, but loses that golden opportunity if it gets bought out.
Of course, Merck wants to keep the lucrative Remicade deal, so it's trying to dance around the rules by
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Posted
Aug 19 2009, 02:47 PM
by
CAPS Editor
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 This post comes from Rich Duprey at partner site The Motley Fool.
Some companies are obviously great investments -- in hindsight. Yet for every stock screaming "Buy me!" others simply give us a nudge and a nod.
How can we isolate tomorrow's great investments from the thousands of pretenders? At MSN CAPS, these opportunities are frequently found among four-star stocks.
Top-rated five-star stocks obviously have bullish consensus, but we've found that stocks moving up from three stars to four are likely being driven by "smart money." By getting in early, investors may be able to eke out a few extra percentage points of gain from these equities.
That's why it's worthwhile to sift through the CAPS database to find four-star companies that could be on the cusp of achieving a bullish consensus among investors.
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Posted
Sep 03 2009, 02:48 PM
by
CAPS Editor
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 This post comes from Morgan Housel at partner site The Motley Fool.
Even with the recent rally, it's ugly out there. Many companies that overleveraged their balance sheets are permanently impaired and will likely never fully rebound. Citigroup (C) and Fannie Mae (FNM) come to mind.
We had an unprecedented boom; now we're slowly trying to claw out of an unprecedented bust. That's how markets work.
Even so, history tells us that market panics and forced sell-offs indiscriminately throw the good out with the bad. The "sell-now-ask-questions-later" mood of global investors is providing bargain-hunting investors with the sort of opportunities we haven't seen in decades. Use that to your advantage.
I've consulted with MSN CAPS, the investment community organized to help individuals beat the market, to hunt down a trio of dirt cheap, high-quality companies.
Bing: What does MSN CAPS do?
Each has a four-star rating at CAPS. While top-rated five-star stocks obviously have bullish consensus, we've found that stocks moving up from three stars to four are likely being driven by "smart money." By getting in early, investors may be able to eke out a few extra percentage points of gain from these equities. So it's worthwhile to sift through the CAPS database to find four-star companies that could be on the cusp of achieving a bullish consensus among investors.
Have a look:
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Posted
Mar 09 2009, 11:29 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Big Pharma is running scared.
That message is coming across loud and clear, now that Merck (MRK) is buying Schering-Plough (SGP) for $41.1 billion in cash and stock. It was just a few weeks ago that Pfizer (PFE) hooked up with Wyeth in a $68 billion deal. And then there's Roche's current offer for Genentech (DNA).
Drug companies are rushing into each other's arms these days to unite against some difficult years ahead for the industry. The credit markets are dried up and the political and economic landscape is changing. The mergers are a defensive move as companies find their bottom lines increasingly under assault.
Here are some of the problems drug companies face:
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Posted
May 13 2009, 10:41 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
It looks like big investors are rotating out of cyclical positions -- especially bank stocks -- in favor of defensive positions.
By supporting the most heavily traded issues during Tuesday's session, mostly the 30 Dow components, the hedge-fund types tried to mask their escapes. This explains the diverging performances of the various indices, with small caps and transportation stocks being hurt badly.
The market internals gurus at Lowry's weren't fooled by the smokescreen the retreating bulls left in their wake: They found a 5 point drop in buying power and a 6 point rise in selling pressure despite the fact the Dow Industrials actually gained 50 points for the day. This was enough to trigger two of their sell signals, which means it is likely we are in the midst of the correction I've been expecting (see posts here and here)
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Posted
Dec 31 2008, 06:00 AM
by
Andrew Horowitz
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
If you have not had the opportunity to work with the MSN Money Stock Screener, you should. It provides for a great ways to find investment ideas that could, after some research, turn up winners. The first component of the research process for The Disciplined Investor's QuantaFundaTechna approach uses screens to focus on purely quantitative measures to find stocks that meet a variety of conditions.
A simple example of a screen that has been relatively successful over time is known as The Dogs of the Dow. The group of 10 stocks is now set for 2009. Here is the list:
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Posted
Feb 05 2009, 11:20 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Schering-Plough (SGP) is getting some nice buzz this week after posting fourth-quarter results that were better than many expected.
Schering and Merck (MRK) give their reports on the same day, since they have shared cholesterol treatments, but this time around Schering was the star of the show. Schering's profit was ahead of analyst targets, and its revenue rose 17%, even after unfavorable currency rates sliced off 6%.
That's led to speculation that Schering could be the next big takeover target in the pharmaceutical industry, according to Reuters. Schering would be a fairly easy acquisition to make, and it has an added advantage because none of its big products will be undercut by generic knockoffs anytime soon.
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Posted
Nov 09 2007, 02:40 PM
by
Matt Koppenheffer
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
With an 11-5 record so far in trials over liability from its Vioxx drug, you might think that Merck would be encouraged to continue -- as it vowed in the past -- fighting every case individually. But an announcement today from the company signaled that they are laying down their arms and settling the suits still outstanding for an estimated $4.85 billion. Sticker shock at the size of the settlement may lead some to believe that this is a poor turn of events for Merck. The market, however, was encouraged by the turn of events and boosted Merck's stock over 2% on a day when everything else headed south. Why would investors be happy? First and foremost, the market hates uncertainty. Though the nominal amount of the settlement is large, it puts a definite figure to the issue and allows investors to now make value judgments with that in mind. Additionally, it will allow the company to move on and get back to fully focusing on developing and marketing new drugs.
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Posted
Jun 22 2009, 01:12 PM
by
Minyanville
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Here's what I’m focused on this fine Monday morning:
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF):
Those of you that actively follow Ticker Shock know I’m sweet on retail stocks for the long run. This is simply because I believe there's a huge amount of upside potential to be had, as Americans are generally big spenders.
In spite of my longer-term bullish outlook, I haven’t been so crazy about Abercrombie & Fitch, as of late. After all, its first-quarter results left a lot to be desired. Additionally, its stock has seen better days.
However, there was some positive news that deserved a little more attention than it got. The news came out last week that it's going to close its Ruehl stores.
My thoughts:
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