Drug manufacturers are still at multi-year steep discounts. Take a look at TEVA stock. Teva Pharmaceutical rose by almost 9% last week because the generic drugmaker is a bargain.
Teva, CVS Health, Allergan, and Endo reached an opioid settlement with Florida on March 30. Teva will pay Florida almost $180 million over 15 years and opioid reversal medicine Narcan for $84 million over 10 years. The settlement will not hurt Teva’s cash flow. The heavily indebted firm needs the cash to pay down debt.
Pfizer (PFE) is out of favor as investors dump companies who sell billions in Covid-19 vaccines. Pfizer’s anti-viral drug is a potential blockbuster. Omicron sub-variant 2 is a predominant strain in the U.S. and will spread worldwide. Hospitals need an anti-viral to treat severe cases.
Merck (MRK) also developed a Covid antiviral pill as did AstraZeneca (AZN). Investors already accumulated MRK stock, anticipating strong sales.
Still, Merck and Ridgeback’s virus pill is not the only blockbuster. It continues to move ahead with Keytruda in treating certain tumors in five cancers.
Merck acquired Acceleron Pharma and then laid off staff. Acceleron is clinical-stage biotech. It broadens Merck’s drug pipeline and prospects
