Fair Isaac Corp.

MERCK & CO. INC., $92.18, is a buy. The drugmaker (symbol MRK on New York) is a pharmaceutical leader in oncology, acute-care and animal health drugs as well as vaccines.

Merck has now exercised an option to jointly develop and potentially sell an mRNA-based cancer vaccine along with Moderna (symbol MRNA on Nasdaq).

The vaccine, mRNA-4157, is being tested in conjunction with Merck’s blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, in a mid-stage trial....

Demand for Fair Isaac’s credit scoring solutions from U.S. mortgage lenders may weaken for due to rising interest rates, but demand from automotive and personal lending clients should hold up. Meantime, it’s developing new scoring products for use in several countries, and there is plenty of room for Fair Isaac’s international business to expand....

STERIS PLC, $211.98, is a buy. The company (symbol STE on New York) sells sterilization equipment, surgical tables, and other products and services used in hospitals and laboratories.

The company operates in four segments: Healthcare Products (47% of revenues), Applied Sterilization Technologies (21%), Healthcare Specialty Services (19%), and Life Sciences (13%)....

Rising interest rates and recession fears have hit these three technology stocks particularly hard in 2022, as investors worry a slowdown will prompt their clients to spend less on their products.


However, those kinds of cuts would be shortsighted of clients, as the products they buy from these companies make them more efficient....

YAMANA GOLD INC., $7.16, is a hold. The miner (symbol YRI on Toronto) owns and operates five gold mines, in Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. This includes the Cerro Moro gold/silver mine in Argentina. It started up in mid-2018.

Yamana received a $6.7 billion U.S....

BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP., $42.11, is a buy. The company (symbol BSX on New York) develops and markets medical devices used in minimally invasive procedures. Its products are used for angioplasty (blood vessel repair), blood clot filtration, cardiac rhythm management, catheter-aided ultrasound imaging, and many other surgical procedures....

These stocks are a good way for investors to diversify their Finance sector holdings beyond the big banks. Both provide vital services to other lenders and firms, which helps cut your risk.


STATE STREET CORP. $67 is a buy. The company (New York symbol STT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 367.1 million; Market cap: $24.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.statestreet.com) sells accounting and administrative services to operators of mutual funds and pension plans....

Long-time readers know that we keep you informed of important news about the stocks we cover. That means highlighting developments and plans that promise to brighten prospects for investors. Here are two buys that stand out this month:


STERIS PLC, $252.92, is a buy. The firm (New York symbol STE; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.steris.com; Shares outstanding: 100.1 million; Market cap: $24.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.7%) sells sterilization equipment, surgical tables, and other products and services used in hospitals and laboratories.


In the quarter ended December 31, 2021, Steris’s revenue jumped 49.5%, to $1.2 billion from $808.9 million a year earlier....

AMAZON.COM INC., $3,089.21, symbol AMZN on Nasdaq, is a buy. The company is one of the world’s largest online retailers. It’s also the third-largest digital ad provider in the U.S. Its Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure service providers.

Amazon has now entered agreements with commercial space companies Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance to aid the execution of its new initiatives called Project Kuiper....

Fair Isaac and Broadridge were well positioned to gain during the pandemic: since March of 2020, Fair Isaac is up 150.7%, and Broadridge has jumped 98.1%. We think both stocks have room to move even higher as their products continue to experience strong—and growing —demand.


FAIR ISAAC CORP., $438.80, is a buy. The company (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 27.4 million; Market cap: $11.9 billion; No dividends paid) is best known for its FICO Scores software....