Posted Jul 1st 2009 10:30AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Bad news, Pfizer (PFE)
Late yesterday, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase III trial of Sutent. The drug is for treating colorectal cancer, and the study was terminated because it failed to achieve its primary end point in the study. An independent committee (the Data Monitoring Committee) found that adding sunitinib to the chemotherapy regimen FOLFIRI would be unable to demonstrate "a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival compared to FOLFIRI alone."
The company's vice president of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs Dr. Mace Rothenberg noted, "We are disappointed with this result, but trial successes and failures are an integral part of cancer drug development and contribute to a growing body of knowledge on improving patient care."
Continue reading Pfizer discontinues Phase III drug trial; stock continues to drag
Posted Jun 26th 2009 11:00AM by Tom Johansmeyer
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS)
Mergers and acquisitions aren't delivering the fees that investment bankers used to enjoy, but fortunately, the money's coming from elsewhere. Data from Thomson Reuters reports a 29% increase in capital markets and M&A fees for the first time in more than a year. Share sales (e.g., rights offerings) were where dealmakers found the action. In the shrinking M&A space, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has taken the lead spot.
Since there are fewer banks in the marketplace than there were a year ago -- and they have less money -- the capital is starting to come from elsewhere. Because they aren't lending at their previous pace, companies are issuing bonds and equity to replenish their coffers. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), for example, raked in more than $23 billion from the bond market to fund its acquisition of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), and Roche nabbed Genentech with the help of a $30 billion debt issuance.
Continue reading M&A plunges, investment banks find money elsewhere
Posted Jun 25th 2009 3:10PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Amgen Inc (AMGN)
Bit by bit, the IPO market is picking up steam. And, the latest deal hit the markets today: Medidata (NASDAQ: MDSO).
So far, the shares are up 19% $16.70 (the IPO priced at $14, which was above its $11-$13 price range).
Founded about ten years ago, Medidata develops web-based software for clinical trials management. Obviously, it's a big market opportunity.
Keep in mind that a drug costs more than $1 billion to develop. Oh, and the process can easily go beyond a decade. In other words, it's important to streamline the process.
Continue reading Medidata ... an Obama IPO?
Posted Jun 19th 2009 4:40PM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Ford Motor (F), Home Depot (HD), Diageo plc (DEO), Best Buy (BBY), Lilly (Eli) (LLY), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Stocks to Buy

Every year I find myself asking the same question: What to get dad for Father's Day. Well, Kiplinger's offers not to get our dads the same old presents -- another tie, another power tool -- but
stocks in companies he probably likes or uses their products. That's a great idea, I thought, and decided to counter with five of my own.
- Kiplinger's suggests: Diageo (NYSE: DEO), the seller of such brands as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guinness and José Cuervo. Diageo has held up better than most during the recession -- thanks to a balanced portfolio of products, with higher exposure to mid-price, mainstream brands and less exposure to ultra-premium brands. The shares look reasonably priced. At $56.01, Diageo trades at 15 times estimated June 2009 earnings of $3.82 a share. The stock yields 2.8%.
- Another to consider: Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP), the seller of such brands as Coors, Blue Moon, Pilsner and Rickard's. Beer, probably even more so than hard liquor is supposed to hold better during a recession given the cheaper price point. The company's recent quarterly profits more than doubled. The shares trade at 13 times forward earnings of $3.33 and yield 2.2%.
Continue reading Five stocks for Father's Day from Kiplinger's ... and five more
Posted Jun 11th 2009 4:10PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Bank of America (BAC), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), E*TRADE (ETFC)

Today marked intra-day 2009 for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, although these might not have closed on the highs for the year. Also that won't be known until the formal 4:30-ish closing reset adjustment. This came on the heels of slightly
less-bad jobs data and on some
confusing retail gains. Unlike earlier Treasury auctions, today's 30-year Treasury Bond auction was a help to the markets as yields reached a high enough level that investors jumped in. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 8,770.92 +31.90 (0.37%)
S&P 500 944.88 +5.73 (0.61%)
Nasdaq 1,862.37 +9.29 (0.50%)
Top Analyst UpgradesTop Analyst DowngradesContinue reading Closing Bell: When 2009 highs are under-covered (BAC, ETFC, MYL, PFE, QCOM, STAA)
Posted May 22nd 2009 11:00AM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Pfizer (PFE), Boeing Co (BA), Texas Instruments (TXN), General Dynamics Corp (GD), Northrop Grumman (NOC)
"Golf has Tiger Woods, novelists have Tom Clancy, and the investment community has stars such as Bruce Berkowitz, Bill Nygren, Charlie Dreifus, and Mario Gabelli," states Paul Tracy.
In his The Street Authority Market Advisor, he suggests, "These money managers are at the pinnacle of their craft." Here, he takes a look at these "celebrities" and some of their current top stock holdings.
"These money managers have all amassed prodigious gains over the years for their shareholders. Over the past few months, these gurus have come out with ringing endorsements for certain stocks. This isn't empty talk -- they are putting their money where their mouth is.
Continue reading Investing with the stars: Top stocks from top managers
Posted May 2nd 2009 2:40PM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Time Warner (TWX), Pfizer (PFE), Motorola (MOT), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Viacom (VIA), Revlon (REV), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Procter and Gamble (PG), U.S. Steel (X), Under Armour'A' (UA), E*TRADE (ETFC)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: P&G, DreamWorks, E*Trade, Netflix, Under Armour, Humana and more
Posted May 2nd 2009 9:40AM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Time Warner (TWX), Pfizer (PFE), Starbucks (SBUX), Motorola (MOT), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Verizon Communications (VZ), Office Depot (ODP), Eastman Kodak (EK), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), Dow Chemical (DOW), Burger King Hldgs (BKC), Goodyear Tire and Rubber (GT), MetLife Inc. (MET), Visa Inc. (V)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Starbucks, Kodak, Verizon, Visa, Office Depot, Baidu and more
Posted Apr 27th 2009 11:50AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Pfizer (PFE), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Deutsche Bank upgraded BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's Q4 results could remove uncertainty and cost cutting initiatives could drive upside.
- Baird upgraded Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $42 from $34 citing valuation, solid execution, and growth potential.
- Citigroup upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the recent sell-off presents an attractive buying opportunity. The firm believes Netflix has one of the best earnings outlooks in the internet sector and increased its target price to $52 from $37.
- AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- Joy Global (NYSE: JOYG) and Bucyrus (NYSE: BUCY) were raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BT, NFLX, AZN, PFE ...
Posted Apr 27th 2009 8:30AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Pfizer (PFE), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Novartis AG ADS (NVS), Merck and Co (MRK)
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), a pharmaceutical entity whose colleagues include Merck (NYSE: MRK), Novartis (NYSE: NVS), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), will be reporting first-quarter earnings Tuesday. As one has come to expect, the market believes that the company will be experiencing a decline in bottom-line income. The call is for 49 cents per share versus 61 cents per share in the year-ago period.
That's a drop of 20%. That might not sound so hot, but the good news is that Pfizer has a solid recent track record when it comes to beating earnings expectations. So shareholders might be justified in feeling confident about that aspect of the game.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Pfizer beat in Q1?
Posted Mar 30th 2009 9:00AM by Paul Foster
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Merck and Co (MRK), Options
Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) closed at $43.11. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced on January 26 the acquisition of WYE for $33 in cash and 0.985 of a share of PFE. PFE closed at $14.04. WYE April and May option implied volatility of 23 is near its 13-week average of 23, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.
Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) approved a definite merger agreement on March 9. SGP shareholders will receive 0.5767 shares and $10.50 in cash for each share of SGP. SGP closed at $24.19. MRK closed at $27.16. SGP April and May option implied volatility of 37 is near its 2-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directorial price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
Posted Mar 12th 2009 4:05PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), General Electric (GE), Pfizer (PFE), General Motors (GM), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Bank of America (BAC)

It felt hard enough to milk out a two-day rally when you looked over the numbers yesterday. Now we have a 3-day rally. Gnarly jobless claims were swept under the table despite the notion that we now have over 5.3 million adults on the continued jobless claims.
The retail sales data was enough of a boost, and the data on things not being as bad at the financials helped even further. Trading volume still feels light, but at least everyone's retirement accounts have gone up. After all, it still feels good to see broad-based rallies. Here are today's closing bell levels:
Dow 7,170.06 +239.66 (3.46%)
S&P 500 750.74 +29.38 (4.07%)
Nasdaq 1,426.10 +54.46 (3.97%)
Top Analyst UpgradesTop Analyst DowngradesContinue reading Closing Bell: Three positive days in a row too much? (BAC, GE, GM, PFE, SIRI, AAPL, TYC)
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