Author: Noah Kiedrowski

Are Hasbro Results A Harbinger For Disney Earnings?

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


I recently wrote a piece highlighting Disney as an inexpensive growth opportunity for long-term investors. My positive sentiment was rooted in many lucrative franchises such as Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and the legacy Disney brand turning out original content such as Frozen and Zootopia. Disney offers a deep and well-diversified product portfolio that is set to provide growth and safety well into the future. This portfolio gives rise to a basket of entertainment income streams via movies, licensing deals, theme parks, TV programing, resorts and distribution rights. Disney stock has been under pressure as of late due to increasingly worrisome revenue declines from the ESPN franchise. I felt this decline in the stock is unwarranted, and analysts underestimate the ability of Disney to evolve to the consumer and monetize ESPN via other means. My views were recently echoed by analysts at Pivotal Research which upgraded the stock from a hold to a buy and raised its target price from $104 to $122. JPMorgan Chase also reiterated its buy rating and a $118 target price. Disney has witnessed fantastic growth over the last decade and considering future catalysts in the pipeline; Disney appears undervalued. Disney currently sits at a P/E of ~18 along with a PEG of ~1.5 and has seen its stock fall from $122 to a current price of ~$100 or alternatively a ~20% decline. This presents a great buying opportunity in an inexpensive, high-quality growth stock.

Are Hasbro Results A Harbinger for Upcoming Disney Earnings?

Disney and Hasbro have established a mutually beneficial partnership as Hasbro’s recent quarterly sales increased by 16%. This double-digit increase in sales was largely attributable to the sales of Disney’s Star Wars and Princess franchises. Overall, Hasbro’s revenue grew to $831.2 million from $713.5 million during a time that is typically slower for toy makers. Hasbro’s strong numbers benefited from the late 2015 release of the new Star Wars film. CEO Brian Goldner stated “Retail and consumer demand for Star Wars remained very high” and that Hasbro’s line of Disney Princess characters was “very positive.” The Disney and Hasbro relationship is being leveraged for future movies such as the upcoming Captain America Civil War film as well. Continue reading "Are Hasbro Results A Harbinger For Disney Earnings?" →

Disney - A Very Attractive Inexpensive Growth Stock

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


Disney offers an array of world renowned franchises (Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and the Disney offerings) that offer a deep and well-diversified product portfolio. This portfolio gives rise to a basket of entertainment income streams via movies, licensing deals, theme parks, TV programing, resorts and distribution rights. Disney stock has been under pressure as of late due to increasingly worrisome revenue declines from the ESPN franchise. I feel this decline in the stock is unwarranted and analysts underestimate the ability of Disney to evolve to the consumer and monetize ESPN via other means. The generational penetration of the Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and the legacy Disney franchises are being underestimated and undervalued. Disney has witnessed fantastic growth over the last decade and considering future catalysts in the pipeline; Disney appears undervalued. Disney currently sits at a P/E of 18 along with a PEG of 1.5 and has seen its stock fall from $122 to a current price of $96 or alternatively a 21% decline. This presents a great buying opportunity in an inexpensive, high-quality growth stock.

Future Growth and Pipeline

Disney has a rich pipeline with Star Wars themed parks, Star Wars movies, the opening of Disney Shanghai, Marvel movies, Pixar movies and future Disney movies such as Finding Dory to highlight a few. The deep movie portfolio and distribution schedule is highlighted below (Figure 1). Continue reading "Disney - A Very Attractive Inexpensive Growth Stock" →

TIME Magazine Showcases Immunotherapy – Immunotherapy ETF Now Trading

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


Introduction

Immunotherapy has garnered national attention recently by being showcased on the front cover of Time magazine. Immunotherapy has been an emerging and exciting therapeutic area that has experienced massive growth in terms of research and development expenditures and the sheer number of clinical trials. Immunotherapy ushers in a new class of potentially promising therapies by harnessing the body’s immune system to recognize and eradicate debilitating diseases, specifically cancer and chronic viral infections. This immunotherapy approach may inevitably result in a paradigm shift from traditional medical intervention. Immunotherapy possesses holistic attributes by harnessing the body’s immune system to contend with or in some cases prevent disease. In addition to the holistic aspects, immunotherapy has been shown to have a favorable side effect profile and best-in-class efficacy across many different disease states. These therapies may provide powerful technology to contend with a host of diseases, and in a future state, may potentially serve as a preventative technology similar to a traditional vaccine. Immunotherapy has evolved into many different classifications with differing modalities over the past few years, which has given rise to a growing number small-cap biotechnology companies with potential investment opportunities via an immunotherapy ETF. In late 2015, Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy ETF launched (NASDAQ:CNCR) and provides investors with an opportunity to invest in this unique cohort. Continue reading "TIME Magazine Showcases Immunotherapy – Immunotherapy ETF Now Trading" →

McKesson Goes On Acquisition Spree And Announces Layoffs

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


Introduction

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) has been on an acquisition spree as of late and announced layoffs of 1,600 workers or about 4% of its U.S. workforce. These collective efforts are aimed to stem any losses in revenue from a hit to its customer base while continuing to drive value for shareholders. McKesson has agreed to acquire two privately held medical firms that focus in oncology for a total of $1.2 billion. McKesson has also agreed to acquire Ontario-based Rexall Health for $2.2 billion in Canada. Layoffs are underway as well after the company determined “reductions in our workforce would be necessary to align our cost structure with our business model.” McKesson is being proactive and aligning its cost structure to in a fiscally responsible manner in order to remain competitive and add value to shareholders. After the recent political induced healthcare sell-off, many healthcare stocks look attractive at these levels, specifically McKesson. Once the political cycle is complete in 2016, these stocks will likely benefit from the mere absence of political headwinds. McKesson has hit a 52-week low and remains near that level and boasts a P/E of 16 and a PEG of 1.46. McKesson appears very attractive considering its EPS growth, dividend payout, acquisitive mindset and share buyback program. Continue reading "McKesson Goes On Acquisition Spree And Announces Layoffs" →

Political Posturing Continues To Pummel Biotech

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


As the political cycle matures in 2016, the political posturing continues to plague the entire healthcare cohort. Utilizing the biotech sector and drug pricing as a scapegoat for political gains has translated into the sector posting sharp declines over the past year. Using the iShares Biotechnology Index ETF (PACF:IBB) as a proxy for the biotechnology sector, this cohort has fallen from $401 in July of 2015 to $240 in February of 2016 or alternatively a 40% decline. This sharp decline coincided with heated political rhetoric aimed at the collective cohort of healthcare and more specifically biotech-related companies. This cynical sentiment by political frontrunners was largely rooted in the pricing of drugs. It’s noteworthy to highlight that this specific segment of the industry (i.e. drugs) comprises less than 10% of the total cost of healthcare. As candidate threats via legislative action geared towards reining in the costs of drugs unfolded, these actions negatively reverberated through healthcare and biotech stocks alike. The political posturing surrounding potential plans to reign in drug costs are now largely priced into many stocks within the healthcare umbrella. I contend that after the roughly year-long political sell-off the biotech cohort looks attractive at these levels. Once the political cycle is complete later this year, these stocks will likely benefit from the mere absence of political headwinds. Taken together along with the difficulty of enacting any legislative action to regulate the industry this may represent a buying opportunity that’s been presented by extraneous political events. Continue reading "Political Posturing Continues To Pummel Biotech" →