Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, August 26, 2016

Article Excerpt

PFIZER INC., $34.88, New York symbol PFE, is one of the world’s leading prescription drug makers. Its top-selling brands include Lyrica (epilepsy), Celebrex (arthritis pain), Prevnar (pneumonia) and Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis). Many of Pfizer’s drugs will lose their patent protection in the next few years. In response, the company is buying smaller drugmakers with promising products. This week, it announced two acquisitions. The first is Medivation Inc. (Nasdaq symbol MDVN). That firm makes Xtandi, a treatment for prostate cancer. The drug has annual sales of $2.2 billion. Medivation has several other promising anti-cancer drugs undergoing clinical trials. Pfizer will pay $14 billion, which includes Medivation’s debt, when it completes the purchase later this year. The company held cash and investments of $20.9 billion, or $3.45 a share, as of June 30, 2016, so it can comfortably afford this acquisition. Medivation will immediately add $0.05 a share to Pfizer’s annual profit; it earned $2.20 a share in 2015. The company has also agreed to buy the antibiotics…