Topic: How To Invest

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, June 29, 2018

Article Excerpt

AMAZON.COM INC., $1,699.80, symbol AMZN on Nasdaq, continues to disrupt a range of industries—and push down shares of stocks in those markets. This week, firms with significant online drug sales, such as Walgreens Boots Alliance (symbol WBA on Nasdaq) and CVS Health Corp. (symbol CVS on New York), took a big dip. That’s because Amazon paid just under $1.0 billion to buy online pharmacy PillPack. Amazon outbid Walmart for the acquisition of the Boston-based, five-year-old start-up. PillPack ships medications to customers’ homes in 49 U.S. states, excluding Hawaii. It specializes in patients with chronic conditions who take multiple daily prescriptions. PillPack delivers medications in pre-sorted dose packaging and coordinates refills and renewals. The company also sells other products like vitamins, inhalers and testing supplies. While the long-range payoff in online pharmaceuticals may be significant, Amazon has shown that it’s willing to enter new areas with a focus on rapidly gaining market share—rather than profits. That’s why its stock trades at a very high 135.1…