Top Health Care Stocks
JNJ -0.39%
PFE -0.20%
ABT -0.82%
MRK -0.06%
AMGN +0.29%
Health care stocks were catching up with the declines for most other sectors, including a 0.7% decline for the NYSE Health Care Index in late trade. Also, shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 were down more than 0.4% as a group while the Nasdaq Biotechnology index also was down over 0.4% this afternoon.
Among health care stocks moving on news:
+ Spectrum Pharmaceuticals ( SPPI ) still was more than 10% higher in late Friday trading, easing somewhat from a slightly more than 17% advance earlier today that followed the specialty drugmaker reporting Q2 net income reversing a year-ago net loss and also exceeding analyst estimates. The company earned $0.13 per share during the three months ended June 30, easily beating the Capital IQ consensus expecting no change for its $0.29 per share net loss during the same quarter last year. Its non-GAAP earnings and revenue both trailed Street views. Spectrum also said it has enough cash and marketable securities on hand to fund its operations into 2020.
In other sector news:
+ Sanofi ( SNY ) still was holding on to a slim advance this afternoon, earlier Friday rising over 1%, after analysts at Citigroup raised their investment recommendation for the drugmaker's stock to Buy from Neutral. The upgrade follows Sanofi July 31 reporting Q2 net income of $0.74 per share on $9.74 billion in revenue, topping analyst projections by $0.02 per share and $41.8 million, respectively.
- Neogenomics ( NEO ) still was nearly 5% lower Friday afternoon, recovering moderately from a more than 9% slide in morning trading that followed the genetic-testing laboratory company pricing a $125 million public offering of 9.8 million of its common shares at $12.75 each, equal to a 2.4% discount to Thursday's closing price. Net proceeds will fund business growth for the cancer-screening company, including potential acquisitions or investments, as well as other general corporate purposes such as repaying existing debt.
- Gemphire Therapeutics ( GEMP ) Friday plunged to a record low of just 83 cents, at one point losing almost three-quarters of its former value after the data and safety monitoring board overseeing Phase IIa testing of its gemcabene drug candidate in pediatric patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease said the trial should be halted after the first three patients in the trial experienced an increase in their liver-fat contents.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
