Health care stocks are a vital part of most investors'
portfolio. The theory goes that people will always get sick, so
these companies will always have healthy profits. Well
unfortunately, some rough quarterly earnings reports and dips in
share values in recent weeks have proven that even the health car
sector is subject to some volatility and that no earnings are
guaranteed.
Here are a number of pharma and medical blue chips that have not
lived up to expectations and are hazardous to the health of your
portfolio:
Amgen (
AMGN
)
Market Cap:
$52.6 billion
Dividend Yield:
N/A
Amgen Inc.
(NASDAQ:
AMGN
) is an independent biotechnology medicines company. The Company
discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for
grievous illnesses focusing on human therapeutics and medicines
based on advances in cellular and molecular biology. Its
current quarter growth estimate is at -14.8% and AMGN sales were
slightly down with some of the big name drugs in its catalog. Amgen
is a better bet as a sell than a hold.
Gilead Sciences (
GILD
)
Market Cap:
$30.7 billion
Dividend Yield:
N/A
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
(NASDAQ:
GILD
) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and
commercializes therapeutics. The Company products include Truvada,
Atripla, Viread, and Emtriva. Coming off a quarter with lower than
expected revenue stream, GILD is also in the wake of a negative
earnings report and shares have dropped more than -20%
year-to-date. Don't let Gilead infect the rest of your portfolio as
it rides out its unhealthy wave.
Celgene (
CELG
)
Market Cap:
$25.9 billion
Dividend Yield:
N/A
Celgene Corporation
(NASDAQ:
CELG
) is an integrated biopharmaceutical company primarily engaged in
the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies
designed to treat cancer and immune-inflammatory related diseases.
With stock returns down -9.4% in the past three months and the
company slow to gain momentum, the future for CELG shares present a
high risk threat.
Baxter (
BAX
)
Market Cap:
$26.7 billion
Dividend Yield:
2.59%
Baxter International Inc.
(NASDAQ:
BAX
) develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain
the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious
diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute
medical conditions. While the company did just announce a dividend
payable on October 1, since February of this year BAX has diverged
greatly from the performances of the broader markets-falling more
than -20% below both the S&P and Dow Jones in that time.
Covidien (
COV
)
Market Cap:
$18.8 billion
Dividend Yeild:
N/A
Covidien Public Limited Company
(NYSE:
COV
) is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of healthcare
products for use in clinical and home settings. The Company
operates in three business segments: medical devices,
pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Analysts have already
projected negative growth estimates for this quarter and next
quarter on Covidien stock, so investors should proceed with caution
when pairing money with this projected loser.
St. Jude Medical (
STJ
)
Market Cap:
$12.2 billion
Dividend Yield:
N/A
St. Jude Medical, Inc.
(NYSE:
STJ
) develops, manufactures and distributes cardiovascular medical
devices for the global cardiac rhythm management, cardiology and
cardiac surgery and fibrillation therapy areas and neurostimulation
medical devices for the management of chronic pain. In July 2010,
St. Jude acquired LightLab Imaging, Inc. but showed little
financial upside to investors with an ongoing weak performance at
-8.9% over the past three months.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (
TMO
)
Market Cap:
$18.5 billion
Dividend Yield:
N/A
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
(NYSE:
TMO
) provides analytical instruments, equipment, reagents and
consumables, software and services for research, manufacturing,
analysis, discovery and diagnostics. It operates through two
segments: analytical technologies and laboratory products and
services. TMO shares are in the midst of a nosedive while the Dow
and S&P trend upward this past week, losing more than-12% since
last Monday.
Johnson & Johnson (
JNJ
)
Market Cap:
$161.9 billion
Dividend Yield:
3.68%
Johnson & Johnson
(NYSE:
JNJ
) is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale
of a range of products in the health care field. The Company
operates in three business segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical, and
Medical Devices and Diagnostics. Perhaps best known for its
Band-Aid bandages, Tylenol, baby products and other household
items, lately JNJ has also become associated with lackluster stock
performance. By hitting its 52-week low less than two weeks ago,
this stock should be on sell list for shareholders.
Pfizer (
PFE
)
Market Cap:
$123.8 billion
Dividend Yield:
4.7%
Pfizer Inc.
(NYSE:
PFE
) is a research-based, global biopharmaceutical company. The
Company applies science and its global resources to improve health
and well-being at every stage of life. Popular drugs manufactured
by Pfizer include Celebrex, Lipitor, and Viagra. With earnings set
to be released this week, the outlook for investing in Pfizer stock
does not appear to be positive.
Sanofi-Aventis (
SNY
)
Market Cap:
$78.8 billion
Dividend Yield:
4.9%
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:
SNY
) is a pharmaceutical group engaged in the research, development,
manufacture and marketing of healthcare products. SNY business
includes two main activities: pharmaceuticals and human vaccines
through sanofi pasteur. The Parisian -based company has lost more
than -12% in share value in the past three months alone. It should
also be noted that while earnings estimates are consistently poor,
SNY is projected to underperform even the bleak projections in the
coming months.
Teva Pharmaceuticals (
TEVA
)
Market Cap:
$46.7 billion
Dividend Yield:
1.43%
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited
(NASDAQ:
TEVA
) is a global pharmaceutical company whose principal products are
Copaxone for multiple sclerosis and Azilect for Parkinson's
disease, respiratory products, and women's health products.
Even with growth in international sales show some promise, the
Israeli drugmaker is giving its shareholders a tough pill to
swallow with the loss of 14% in earnings since May of this
year.
As of this writing, Louis Navellier did not own a position in
any of the stocks named here.
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