Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Patrick: I haven’t looked closely at my portfolio lately, but yesterday I noticed Baxter International had dropped in half. As it is one of your recommendations, can you tell me what happened and where you think it will go from here? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

The apparent price drop is because Baxter International, $37.83, symbol BAX on New York (Shares outstanding: 544.3 million; Market cap: $20.5 billion, www.baxter.com), recently completed the spinoff of Baxalta, $30.26, symbol BXLT on New York (Shares outstanding: 544.3 million; Market cap: $20.7 billion, www.baxalta.com). Baxter handed out 80.5% of its Baxalta shares to its investors on July 1, 2015, on a one-for-one basis. This new company makes biopharmaceuticals, including vaccines and hemophilia drugs. Baxter plans to sell or distribute the remaining 19.5% over the next five years. Now that the spinoff is complete, Baxter will focus on medical devices, such as intravenous pumps and kidney-dialysis equipment. Your Baxalta shares should soon appear on your brokerage statements. Baxter is still a buy. We’ll say more about Baxalta in the next issue of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, but for now it’s a hold. hold. …