Category: INO.com Contributors

Issue #15: Healthcare Earnings, Cardinal Health/Becton Dickinson Acquisitions and Clinical Trial Updates

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

INO Health & Biotech Stock Guide

Issue #15

BIOTECH, HEALTH & PHARMA NEWS

Healthcare sector earnings are underway and thus far overall earnings have been robust overall with pockets of softness. From the health insurer side, UnitedHealth (UNH) beat on both EPS and revenue with revenue coming in at a 9.4% year-over-year growth. From the pharmaceutical supply chain, Cardinal Health (CAH) beat on EPS, missed on revenue and disappointed investors when they offered a softer outlook for fiscal 2017 and 2018. This set off a sell-off in the pharmaceutical supply chain stocks. In the biotech space, AbbVie (ABBV) beat on both EPS and revenue with revenue coming in at 9.7% year-over-year growth, Celgene (CELG) beat on EPS and missed on revenue, however revenue came in at a 17.9% increase year-over-year, Regeneron (REGN) missed on EPS, but beat on revenue with a 10% year-over-year growth, Amgen (AMGN) beat on EPS however missed on revenue with a year-over-year decline of 1.3%. In the pharmacy and PBM side, CVS Health (CVS) beat on both EPS and revenue with a 3.0% year-over-year increase and Walgreens (WBA) met EPS and missed on revenue with a year-over-year decline of 2.4%. As Q1 comes to a close, it appears the healthcare cohort has some softness in the pharmacy and pharmaceutical supply chain spaces however biotech and health insurers have posted robust revenue growth.

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Gold Bugs Should Think About Buying Stocks

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals


Some things become more obvious when you change your point of view. Some decisions are easier to make when we change the measure of value. And today I would like to share with you the gold bug’s view of the stock market.

Chart 1. The S&P 500 Monthly In Grams Of Gold

S&P 500 Monthly In Grams Of Gold
Chart courtesy of tradingview.com

The chart above represents the price dynamics of the S&P 500 in grams of gold. I used grams not ounces to make the chart more readable. You can do the same by dividing the S&P 500 value to the price of gold in troy ounces and then multiplying it by 31.1035. Continue reading "Gold Bugs Should Think About Buying Stocks" →

Oil Market Outlook Deteriorating for OPEC

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


Arrogant OPEC members thought they could beat American shale oil producers into submission in a market share battle. But instead, they caught a tiger by the tail, and now the tiger is turning on them.

OPEC producers were bragging back in late 2014 that they had much lower costs of production than American shale oil producers and could easily win back market share by undercutting their prices. But they failed to take into account that they needed higher prices than shale oil producers because oil revenues largely support their national budgets.

Low oil prices caused huge national budget deficits in OPEC countries. They did hurt the smaller, leveraged shale producers; however, they were able to take advantage of the bankruptcy laws in the U.S., not a real option for the producing countries. Their best response is to devalue their currencies, but there are a host of economic issues associated with exercising that option.

Fresh data were reported by OPEC and the U.S. Energy Department recently. The data imply that global oil stocks will rise, instead of decline in 2017, even with the OPEC-non-OPEC production cutbacks. Continue reading "Oil Market Outlook Deteriorating for OPEC" →

Want To Solve The Fannie-Freddie Quandary? Do Nothing

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates


There have been lots of ideas about how to restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the twin government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that purchase the vast majority of residential mortgage loans originated in the U.S. But the one idea that I haven’t heard mentioned, which seems to make the most sense, is: Don’t do anything.

The two agencies used to be hybrid public-private entities, their stock owned by investors but with an “implied” government backing of the mortgage-backed securities they sell. Both of them failed during the global financial crisis, burdened with billions of dollars of bad subprime loans, and were taken over by the government in 2008. Although they remain in conservatorship to this day, they remain the backbone of the American residential mortgage banking system. Continue reading "Want To Solve The Fannie-Freddie Quandary? Do Nothing" →

Issue #14: Walgreen and Rite Aid Deal, Eli Lily and Incyte Fail and NASH Market Heating Up

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

INO Health & Biotech Stock Guide

Issue #14

BIOTECH, HEALTH & PHARMA NEWS

The proposed Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) and Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) deal continues to be drawn out and increasingly tumultuous between the companies involved and federal regulators. Recently,  Rite Aid and Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ:FRED) shares dropped amid talk the Federal Trade Commission is leaning towards filing a lawsuit seeking to block Walgreens' planned acquisition of Rite Aid. In December of 2016, the companies announced an agreement to sell 865 stores to Fred’s for $950 million in cash. Earlier this year, Walgreens and Rite Aid agreed to divest more stores, boosting the number to 1,200 and to reduce their merger price.

Continue reading "Issue #14: Walgreen and Rite Aid Deal, Eli Lily and Incyte Fail and NASH Market Heating Up" →