Amid the excitement over GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, a few of the unheralded beneficiaries are set to report earnings starting Wednesday afternoon. The Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supplies group, which is led byMcKesson(MCK), is by far the stock market's top-rated medical group, ranked No. 16 among 197 industry groups by IBD.
McKesson is part of the flagship IBD 50 list of leading growth stocks. IBD Stock Checkup shows that the group's three titans — McKesson, Cencora (COR) and Cardinal Health (CAH) — all have excellent 98 IBD Composite Ratings, a single rating for both technical and fundamental factors, out of a possible 99. All three are part of the S&P 500.
On Oct. 17, Citi hiked its price target for buy-rated MCK stock to 525 from 490, highlighting potential upside to fiscal second-quarter estimates, principally due to GLP-1 usage.
Citi also noted positive trends for the group as a whole, including double-digit growth in branded drugs, normalizing medical utilization patterns and a better pricing environment for generic drugs.
Argus analyst David Toung raised his MCK stock target to 480 from 450 on Oct. 9, keeping a buy rating. He described McKesson as "riding the tailwinds" from surging demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, as well as higher utilization of specialty and oncology drugs.
McKesson reports Wednesday after the close, Cencora, which recently changed its name from AmerisourceBergen, reports early Thursday. Cardinal Health reports Friday morning.
Also of note: Weight-loss drug leaders Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) report early Thursday.
McKesson Earnings
Estimates: Analysts expect McKesson earnings per share to rise 1.5% to $6.16. Sales are expected to grow 8% to $76 billion.
Results: Check back late Wednesday.
Cencora Earnings
Estimates: Cencora earnings per share are seen rising 8% to $2.81 as revenue expands 8% to $66,3 billion
Results: Check back early Thursday.
Cardinal Health Earnings
Estimates: Fiscal Q1 EPS is seen rising 17% to $1.40 on 10% revenue growth to $54.8 billion.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer confirmed it will be closing down two of its facilities in North Carolina amid a cost-cutting initiative after it revealed that sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and other products would see a drop.
The company told multiple local media outlets that it would be closing its sites in Durham and Morrisville, saying the closures are part of an effort "to operate more efficiently and effectively."
"As part of this effort, Pfizer has decided to close the Kit Creek facility in Morrisville ... and the Durham Clinical Manufacturing Facility," the company said, according to the Triangle Business Journal. "Pfizer continues to operate its largest North Carolina facilities, including two in Sanford and one in Rocky Mount."
It's not clear how many workers would be impacted or laid off. The Epoch Times has contacted the company for comment Monday.
“All job-related decisions will be made with transparency, compassion, and respect, and in compliance with applicable laws," Pfizer told the News & Observer publication. And any employee who is impacted by the closures will be offered a "generous separation package," Pfizer told ABC11 TV, or will be given the chance to apply for another position.
Morrisville Mayor T.J. Cawley suggested that some workers might be laid off, according to the paper. Multiple Pfizer employees who had worked at the two North Carolina facilities listed the hashtag OpenToWork on their LinkedIn profiles in recent days.
“Overall, I think our area is pretty well buffered from the economic downtown,” the mayor said. “Talent will always move around from company to company. We have such a strong talent pool that companies will keep coming here.”
Before the closures were confirmed by the company, a number of unnamed Pfizer workers complained on social media that they would be getting laid off soon amid the company's cost-cutting scheme. Posts alleged that Pfizer officials held a live stream with thousands of workers to announce the cuts earlier in October.
Pfizer told Newsweek about a week ago that "we updated our plans last Friday in this release" and that "we are prepared to launch an enterprise-wide cost improvement program aligned with the longer-term revenue projections for our business. Details of this program will be shared over the coming months and as part of the full-year guidance for 2024." Other details were not provided.
Under federal regulations, employers have to file what's known as a WARN Notice 60 days before closing down a site that impacts at least 50 workers. As of Monday, Pfizer hasn't filed a WARN Notice regarding layoffs, according to the News & Observer, citing the state's Department of Commerce website.
Pfizer Lowers Guidance
About 12 million people, or around 3.6 percent of the population, have gotten one of the latest booster shots, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), last week.
“I think we’re on track. Would I love to see more? Of course, that’s my job as CDC director is to want more,” she told Politico.
Earlier this month, the drug giant released a report saying it would slash its profit and revenue estimates for a full year due to lower demand for COVID-19 products, including its mRNA vaccine and anti-viral drug Paxlovid.
It now expects 2023 sales of $58–61 billion, down from previous forecasts of $67–70 billion, said a report released Oct. 13. It's down "solely due to its COVID products," according to the report.
Sales of its COVID-19 vaccine will be about $2 billion lower than was previously forecast, the company said. It comes after the company's updated COVID-19 booster was made available by U.S. federal regulators in September, although uptake of the latest shot appears to be slow, according to federal health data.
At the same time, Pfizer reduced its guidance for Paxlovid, an antiviral drug that targets COVID-19, by approximately $7 billion.
"We remain proud that our scientific breakthroughs played a significant role in getting the global health crisis under control," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement Friday. "As we gain additional clarity around vaccination and treatment rates for COVID, we will be better able to estimate the appropriate level of supply to meet demand."
“We are in the middle of the COVID fatigue. Nobody wants to speak about COVID,” Mr. Bourla also said during a call earlier this month, according to CNBC. "We have the big anti-vaccination rhetoric."
Over the past month or so, Pfizer's stock has dropped about 10 percent, to just above $30 per share as of Monday morning. Rival pharma Moderna, which also produces an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, has seen its stock drop by more than 29 percent over the past month, to $72 per share as of Monday.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 consistently to drop over the past several weeks after rising somewhat during the summer, according to data posted weekly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emergency room visits and case numbers have also dropped, the data show.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spoke about the Gaza-Israel during a meeting with a group of students at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah in Tehran on Wednesday, chastising Gulf Arab states for their complicity in Israeli aggression.
"What Muslim states must insist on is the immediate cessation of [Israeli] crimes in Gaza. They must promptly stop the bombardment of Gaza and stop the export of oil and other commodities to the Zionist regime," Khamenei stressed.
"Muslim states must not cooperate economically with the Zionist regime but denounce these catastrophes and crimes vociferously and without hesitation in all international forums," he added.
Khamenei also highlighted that the ongoing war is "between truth and falsehood, between the power of faith and the power of arrogance.” He added: "Of course, the power of arrogance comes with military pressure, bombardment, as well as calamities and crimes, but the power of faith will overcome all of these by God’s grace."
Khamenei also mentioned that Gaza is a “human movement” whose influence spread outside of the Levant.
"[The people of Gaza managed to] move the human conscience [...] look what is happening in the world; in western countries, in Britain, France, Italy, and various US states, people come in large crowds to the streets and chant slogans against Israel and the US itself," Khamenei added.
“It was an absolute disgrace for them, which they can neither recover from nor justify,” Khamenei said. “The Muslim world should not forget that all through the critical issue of Gaza, the [parties] which stood against Islam and the oppressed Palestinian nation was [the US], France and Britain."
Speaking about the movements in the west, Khamenei touched on those who are blaming Iran for the protests, mockingly saying that "we see a fool coming and saying that the gathering of people in England to support the Palestinian people is the work of Iran."
During his talks with the students of Iran, he looked back at the role played during the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Iran, saying, "The US was disgraced. This was the blow of the Iranian nation to the US."
Bausch Health (NYSE:BHC) rose 4% amid a win in a case with generic drugmaker Norwich Pharma over the company's bowel disease therapy Xifaxan.
The court denied granting a preliminary injunction for Norwich and granted the FDA and Salix's cross-motions for summary judgement, according to a court filing on Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss.
"We see the ruling as the expected outcome in this litigation and as such, slighltly positive for BHC shares as Norwich will not be granted an immediate final approval for rifaximin ANDA," RBC analyst Douglas Miehm wrote in a note on Wednesday. "The question on the timing of the final FDA approval to Norwich's ANDA will likely fall on the appellate court now (likely Q1/24 decisions), in our view."
RBC has a sector perform rating and $8 price target on Bausch Health (BHC).
GAAP Net Loss Attributable to Bausch + Lomb Corporation of $84 Million
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)1 of $187 Million
Revenues Grew 7% as Reported and 8% on a Constant Currency1 Basis Compared to the Third Quarter of 2022, Driven by Growth in the Vision Care and Surgical Segments
Foreign Exchange Negatively Impacted Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)1 by Approximately $10 Million and $14 Million, Respectively
Raises Full-Year Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)1 Guidance
CollPlant Biotechnologies (Nasdaq: CLGN), a regenerative and aesthetics medicine company developing innovative technologies and products based on its non-animal-derived collagen for tissue regeneration and organ manufacturing, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent that covers CollPlant's photocurable dermal filler product candidate, being developed for the aesthetics market.
