Vanguard Growth ETF

On April 22, 2016, McDonald’s (MCD), which forms 1.3% of the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG), was trading at $125.5.

On December 23, Salesforce.com put an end to speculation that had been in the news for a week. It announced the acquisition of SteelBrick for $300 million.

Oracle (ORCL) announced the acquisition of StackEngine on December 18, 2015. SEC filings indicate that the company paid $1.3 million for StackEngine’s employee stock options and equity.

Despite Repatha’s slower-than-expected uptake after its launch in 2015, Amgen (AMGN) is confident of the drug’s future commercial prospects.

On June 27, 2017, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced the launch of its Oncomine Dx Target Test.

The initial bullish reaction to Nike’s earnings stemmed from the upbeat futures orders reports, the higher-than-expected earnings growth, and upbeat outlook.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (BMY) Opdivo’s will now share the second-line lung cancer therapy market with Roche’s Tecentriq, along with Merck’s Keytruda.

For the last several quarters, Medtronic has consistently exceeded analysts’ earnings estimates.

Biogen’s hemophilia drugs, Alprolix and Eloctate, continued to capture market share in 1Q16.

If ozanimod captures a significant share in the evolving multiple sclerosis market, it may have a positive impact on Celgene stock.

BSX’s EPS estimate for 3Q17 represents YoY (year-over-year) growth in the range of 9%–16%. In 2Q17, Boston Scientific registered EPS growth of 18.5% YoY.

In 2016, AbbVie’s (ABBV) drug Humira reported revenue of ~$16.0 billion, which reflected a ~15% year-over-year (or YoY) rise.

Although the ETF industry posted stellar growth, no one thought of issuing an ETF dedicated to ETF providers. The gap was filled by TETF in April 2017.

For fiscal 1Q18, Kors’s EPS came in at $0.90, or $0.28 higher than the estimate. Its revenue fell 3.6% YoY to $952 million but still beat the consensus estimate.

In 2016, Biogen’s (BIIB) interferon therapies, Avonex and Plegridy, together reported revenues of around $2.8 billion, which reflected a drop of ~6% on a year-over-year (or YoY) basis.

December 2015 has been eventful for Salesforce.com with the acquisition of MinHash, a data analytics firm. With this acquisition, Salesforce.com is going deeper into the Big Data space.

Under Armour (UA) has an enviable earnings record. It’s beaten the market consensus on quarterly earnings and sales for over five years in a row.

Michael Kors Holdings Limited (KORS) is slated to report its 1Q18) earnings results on Tuesday, August 8. Here’s what you need to know.

Lululemon (LULU) stock rose 10.7% to $67.80 on March 30, 2016, the day the company declared its fourth quarter results. The stock has risen more than 29% year-to-date.

The bid by Microsemi gave PMC-Sierra an edge to renegotiate with Skyworks and get a better offer. Both Microsemi and Skyworks revised their offers for PMC.

Mallinckrodt’s Specialty Brands segment earned $535 million during fiscal 2Q16 and includes Acthar, the lead drug, as well as other drugs.

The PD-1 (programmed death-1)/PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) class consists of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, Merck’s Keytruda, and Roche’s Tecentriq.

AbbVie posted its 1Q16 earnings on April 28, 2016. The company registered diluted EPS (earnings per share) attributable to common shareholders of $1.15.

Under Armour’s (UA) footwear business registered an impressive 64.2% growth (VUG) rate in 1Q16 versus 1Q15. Footwear sales came in at $264 million in the quarter.

In fiscal 2016, Foot Locker made $5.3 billion in US sales, representing 71.6% of its total revenue. In contrast, international revenue came in at $2.1 billion.

AbbVie (ABBV) aims to position its investigational therapy Rova-T (rovalpituzumab tesirine) as a standard of care treatment for patients with SCLC (small cell lung cancer).

If we dig into the S&P 500 and the S&P Growth indexes, we can see that they have the highest exposure to information technology (or IT).

In 4Q17, Biogen’s (BIIB) interferons generated revenues of $645 million, which reflected a 6% decline YoY and a 3% decline on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) will announce its 4Q17 and fiscal 2017 results on January 31, 2018. It has launched some innovative products and entered into strategic collaborations and partnerships.

In 3Q17, Align Technology trained nearly 1,000 doctors in China.

Baxter International’s 2017 cash flow Between 9M16 (the first nine months of 2016) and 9M17, Baxter International’s (BAX) cash flow rose by $514 million to $933 million, exceeding its cash flow of $905 million in fiscal 2016. In fiscal 9M17, Baxter had operating cash flow of ~$1.3 billion, up $405 million from fiscal 9M16. In fiscal 2017, Baxter expects to […]

AbbVie (ABBV) is focused on advancing its already strong position in the hematologic oncology segment in 2018.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) is the market leader in the THV (transcatheter heart valve) market space, which is estimated to be worth $3.0 billion.

On December 4, 2017, Leerink Swan reiterated its “overweight” rating on TMO stock. The investment research firm has a 12-month target price of $200.00 per share on the stock.

On December 28, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX), or BD, received clearance for its Bard (BCR) acquisition form MOFCOM (Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China), but the approval is contingent on the divestment of BD’s soft tissue core needle biopsy product line.

On December 12, 2017, Argus Research analyst John Eade upgraded Medtronic (MDT) stock from a “hold” to a “buy.” He has a price target of $95.00 per share on the stock.

Infuse received limited approval by the FDA in 2002. However, the off-label use of the device has become quite common.

The smart beta approach aims to benefit from market inefficiencies to deliver higher risk-adjusted returns and improve diversification.

Boston Scientific (BSX) stock fell ~7.5% on November 28, 2017, triggered by the speculation of bad news.

In 3Q17, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (BMY) Baraclude generated revenues of $264 million, a ~14% decline on a year-over-year (or YoY) basis and a 3% decline on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

During the company’s 2Q18 earnings release on November 21, 2017, Medtronic (MDT) provided guidance for the full fiscal 2018.

Allergan stock has fallen ~15.4% in 3Q17. It has fallen 9.8% year-to-date as of October 20, 2017.

Medtronic (MDT) expects its diabetes business to witness a temporary sequential drop in revenues in 2Q18 and then return back to growth in the second half of fiscal 2018.

Dentsply Sirona (XRAY) and Zephyr Sleep Technologies have entered into a strategic partnership for the treatment of OSA (obstructive sleep apnea).

According to a Deloitte report, the biosimilars market is expected to grow to a market value of more than $445.0 billion by the end of 2019.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) closed at $196.62 on September 13, 2017.

Boston Scientific (BSX) expects to register 2017 revenues of $8.9 billion–$9.0 billion compared to its previous guidance of $8.8 billion–$8.9 billion.

In 2Q17, Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Orkambi generated revenues of around $324 million, which reflected a whopping ~32% growth on a year-over-year (or YoY) basis and ~10% growth on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

On June 19, 2017, Medtronic (MDT) experienced a global technology glitch, which led to IT disruption throughout the company.

In 2Q17, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ (REGN) Dupixent generated revenues of $28.6 million.

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the leading player in the US dispensing business. Its Pyxis system sales contribute significantly to the company’s total revenues.

Proton therapy market opportunities The proton therapy market is a highly lucrative opportunity area for Varian Medical Systems (VAR). Proton therapy uses protons for treating cancer instead of X-rays. According to a Medgadget report, the global proton therapy market is expected to double by the year 2022. Though the United States has the biggest proton […]

In 2Q17, Celgene’s (CELG) Otezla generated revenues of around $358 million, which reflected ~49% growth on a year-over-year basis.

To further expand the label of its transcatheter heart valve (or THV), SAPIEN 3, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) is currently involved in enrolling patients in its EARLY-TAVR trial.

In 2016, Bristol-Myer Squibb’s (BMY) Orencia reported revenues of around $2.3 billion, which represents a ~20% YoY rise.

In March 2017, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) announced promising results from two phase-3 clinical trials, Evolve and Expand.

In 2016, Celgene’s (CELG) Otezla generated revenues of around $1.0 billion, a 116% year-over-year (or YoY) increase.

After Dupixent’s commercial launch, Regeneron has been involved in creating awareness for the drug among physicians who have been treating AD patients.

Most of Stryker’s emerging market sales are from China. However, Europe and emerging markets sales have witnessed high growth in recent quarters.

Of the 21 analysts analyzing Alexion Pharmaceuticals, six analysts recommended a “strong buy” and 11 analysts recommended a “buy.”

As of May 26, 2017, Starbucks was trading at a forward PE multiple of 27.4x compared to 26.5x before the announcement of fiscal 2Q17 earnings.

On May 23, 2017, National Oilwell Varco’s (NOV) dividend yield increased to 0.57% from ~0.50% by the end of 1Q17.

Amgen’s (AMGN) Kyprolis has gained considerable market share in second-line multiple myeloma (or MM) indication since its launch in 2012.

In 1Q17, Zoetis (ZTS) managed to earn $615 million as revenues from international markets, which represents a YoY growth of around 8%.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals has planned five clinical trials in 2017 to test the potential of investigational next-generation C5 antibody, ALXN1210, as a treatment option for complement-mediated diseases.

On April 4, 2017, AbbVie announced that the FDA had accepted for review the company’s application seeking approval for Imbruvica as a treatment option for patients suffering from cGVHD.

Stryker has registered strong revenues and earnings in the last few quarters.

In 2016, Kyprolis’s sales totaled ~$692 million, which is a year-over-year rise of ~35.2%.

Schlumberger’s (SLB) quarterly dividend per share (or DPS) remained the same from 4Q15 to 4Q16. SLB’s annualized DPS is $2.00.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) is also investigating investigational therapy, entospletinib, as a treatment option for acute myeloid leukemia (or AML) as well as Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (or DLBCL).

The BD Medical business generated revenues of ~$8.7 billion in fiscal 2016, which ended September 30, 2016.

In 3Q16, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) secured reimbursement for Opdivo in Sweden and Denmark. After its commercial launch, Opdivo also witnessed solid uptake in France and Germany.

AbbVie’s (ABBV) Venclexta has been granted FDA breakthrough therapy designation as a first line therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia who are ineligible for high-dose chemotherapy.

On November 29, 2016, Nevro Corp. (NVRO) filed a lawsuit against Boston Scientific, claiming patent infringement on its patents for Senza and HF10 spinal cord stimulation therapies for chronic back pain.

To diversify its product portfolio, AbbVie (ABBV) has been focusing on patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Specialty Brands had a 69% in Mallinckrodt’s total revenue in 2016, while Specialty Generics had a 31% share.

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s business consists of four complementary businesses: Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics, Life Science Solutions, and Laboratory Products and Services.

On October 19, 2016, AbbVie (ABBV) and Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) announced positive results from two phase 3 clinical trials at the 72nd American Society for Reproductive Medicine Scientific Congress & Expo.

Since crude oil price weakness hit drilling activity hard in 2014, OFS companies have actively been looking to diversify out of the United States.

In his November 2016 Insights newsletter, Richard Bernstein talked about the growing opportunity cost of investing in equities (SPHD) (VIG).

The Federal Reserve’s second last meeting of 2016 is now over, leaving only one meeting left in which the central bank can enact a rate hike.

A bull run with legs In Richard Bernstein Advisors’ October Insights newsletter, after dismissing the belief that the Federal Reserve is to blame for stock price inflation (IWD) (VTV), Richard Bernstein moved on to explain the reason for the current bull run. Stating that “fundamentals have improved dramatically, and have been a major support to the […]

The credibility of the Federal Reserve was a concern raised by some policymakers at the September FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (or NASH) doesn’t have any existing approved treatments on the market, but a number of companies are vying for a share of the untapped market.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) is the largest player in the TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) market.

The benefits of robotic-assisted ventral hernia repair surgery were substantiated by study results released by Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) in early August 2016.

According to Richard Bernstein, the five charts in the recent edition of his newsletter are “five of our favorite charts that highlight what we think consensus is currently missing.”

While many companies are moving toward fee-for-service models and bundled payment structures, BSX is advancing through its category leadership strategy.

Medivation (MDVN) acquired worldwide rights for Talazoparib from BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) in 4Q15. The drug is also referred to as MDV3800.

In addition to research programs targeted at expansions for its existing drugs, Celgene is also involved in advancing its new drug research pipeline.

Schlumberger’s (SLB) dividend yield is the highest among our set of oilfield equipment and services (or OFS) companies.

From September 2011 to August 2016, US crude production has risen by 46% to ~8.5 million barrels per day. Production reached a multiyear high in June 2015.

Following Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ announcement of its acquisition of Celator, Jazz stock fell marginally. A higher premium for Celator might be one of the reasons for the fall.

Dupilumab has a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for the indication of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults.

Varian Medical Systems (VAR) had gross orders value of $310 million in 2015.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) reported revenues of $4.3 billion in 1Q16, which represents a YoY (year-over-year) increase of ~10%.

With only one approved drug as a second-line therapy for SCLC (and no approved third-line treatment) AbbVie expects Rova-T to reach a high unmet demand.

An assessment of a bull market isn’t complete without looking at the companies’ PE ratios. Generally, the ratio rises during a bull market.

Dentsply Sirona (XRAY) is the largest manufacturer of dental equipment and technologies in the world. The company was formed in February 2016.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) was trading at $621.4 as of May 17, 2016. It has a 50-day moving average of $623.9 and a 200-day moving average of $562.8.