I was recently walking around a local upscale-ish shopping mall I frequent fairly regularly, when I happened upon something new and intriguing. It was a store front, sporting Pella flooring-esque wood panels, rugged grey stone and trippy blue, back-lit glass instead of a more traditional window and mannequin set up. I was compelled to enter.
Passing through the altar of trendy modern design, I was informed by a cohort of mine that Martin + Osa, the retailer whose store-front I was still ogling from over my shoulder, was a sub-brand of American Eagle Outfitters and that it was relatively new. After a quick survey of the large store, populated with over-friendly monks patrolling the hip, earth-tone temple and pushing their wares with religious zeal, I realized that the clientele being targeted were more akin to shoppers of Banana Republic and Reuhl, than those that American Eagle attracts. I was shocked at the prospect that this was a new venture, considering the state of the turbulent, post sub-prime economy and unprecedented economic times in general. Read the rest of this article »
With the Big three automakers essentially setting up camp in the hallowed halls of the U.S. congress, lobbying for $25 billion to simply continue operations through next year, it may be slightly delusional to examine a GM product slated to be sold in 2010. But, we here at Naked Stocks like to remain optimistic!
Chevrolet has been developing a hybrid that works in reverse the direction that most hybrids driving around the world’s roads today. The Volt will contain a battery, which when fully charged can propel the car for at least 40 miles, and a 4-cylinder gas engine which will kick in once the battery is exhausted. As an added bonus, the Volt’s battery will not require a recharging station like many concept electric cars. Instead, its battery can be charged with an ordinary 120V plug. Incredibly convenient and according to which expert you consult, it could drastically decrease the ordinary commuter’s carbon contribution if said commuter lives in an area where at least half of the power grid’s energy is generated with non-coal sources.
The Volt is a sizeable step forward towards a less petroleum-centric world. But, more importantly if GM survives to produce the Volt and it proves to be a commercial success, there will be an incentive to invest in better battery technology. This will be important because battery life and performance will ultimately decide whether or not electric cars are a feasible replacement for gasoline powered ones. Chevrolet could be on the verge of leading an energy revolution if their parent company was not on the precarious edge of the abyss and there wasn’t a stable of strong competitors being released during or prior to the Volt’s 2010 release date. Read the rest of this article »
Naked Stocks is back in action and better than ever! After some restructuring and major brainstorming on the future of the brand, the Naked Stocks team is ready to deliver the goods on all our favorite picks, and there are quite a few that we can’t wait to bare to all of you! While everyone else is caught up with words like recession, depression, crash and burn, we prefer to discuss growth, potential, bargains and steals.
We consider ourselves opportunists here at NS, and there are some wild things going on in the world of pharmaceutical companies right now that shows alot of promise. We’re going to do our best to keep you informed on all of the developments as they happen. The landscape is transforming in some big ways, rules are changing and paradigms are shifting! Check back everyday because today we start our first “Baring It All” series and its focus will be big Pharma. We’ll explore all of the ins-and-outs of the business, where it’s been and where it’s heading, and we’ll tell you which of the big players or small upstarts are ready and able to capitalize on the new challenges and opportunities that are opening up. This is gonna be good!
One of the most profitable industries in America - second only to petroleum - is big Pharma. According to Forbes, the industry rakes in more than $600 billion in drug sales each year.
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) is a pharmaceutical behemoth based out of Paris and is currently ranked third in market sales among drug manufacturers. Sanofi manufactures Plavix, the second most prescribed medication in the country, along with Lovenox, Avapro and Lantus insulin, all very successful drugs. Share prices have dropped by nearly 50% to $27 since this time last year, but are poised to rebound in the long term and should be on every bargain hunter’s short list.
A series of big wins in court, a stable of new drugs, and new corporate partnerships ensure Sanofi-Aventis’s continued success and long term growth.
Sanofi has been embroiled in tough lawsuits all over the world concerning the alleged patent-infringement of their drug Plavix by Apotex, who flooded the market with over $1 billion of its generic version in 2006. The German Supreme Court handed down a decision against Sanofi-Aventis this summer, but they won big in U.S. and Canadian counterparts this year and last. The decisions in North America ensure that Plavix will retain its patent exclusivity for at least another two years. Sales of Plavix jumped about 20% in 2007 and are expected to rise even more this year following favorable studies on the effectiveness and versatility of the antiplatelet agent.
In addition to the big wins against Apotex, yesterday Sanofi settled out of court with Teva Pharmaceuticals and Barr Laboratories for approximately $30 million plus royalties on future sales of another popular antihistamine, Fexofenadine, manufactured by Teva and Barr. Sanofi alleges that this generic infringes on their patent for the drug Allegra.
Another drug, Xyzal, is a relative new kid on the block but should prove to be a cash cow for Sanofi. Xyzal was approved to be marketed in the U.S. last year and is one of the first third-generation antihistamines. As an isomer of the very effective Zyrtec, Xyzal is supposed to work as well if not better than Zyrtec, without side-effects (like drowsiness) that most other antihistamines come with.
All of this recent news bodes well for Sanofi’s future, but keep a close eye on Wyeth v. Levine, a case now being heard by the Supreme Court. The defendant, Diana Levine, sued Wyeth pharmaceuticals for failing to print a warning on the packaging of their drug, Phenergan, which would have alerted her doctor to the dangers (i.e. gangrene) of giving the anti-nausea medication by IV push.
Wednesday was a milestone for U.S. markets, albeit not in a good way – for the first time since 2003, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 8,000 to 7,997.28. The Dow, an index of the 30 biggest stocks in the U.S., is a bellwether of the overall stock market. According to the Associated Press, the Dow wasn’t the only economic indicator to take a hit:
Volatility in the stock market has kept demand for Treasury bonds high. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.41 percent from 3.53 percent on Tuesday.
In another sign that the housing market is still suffering, the Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage application volume fell 6.2 percent during the week ended Nov. 14. The trade group’s application index slipped to 398.6 during the week, down from 425 a week earlier. The index peaked at 1,856.7 during the week ending May 30, 2003, at the height of the housing boom.
Another rate cut from the Fed is expected before Thanksgiving. Stay tuned - Editor Justin Picard will be back tomorrow with an interesting look at some pharmaceutical stocks…
The perfect company - it’s the holy grail of the investment world. The company that will make its initial investment hundreds of times over. It’s what everyone shoots for. To have bought Microsoft when it first went public… It’s how fortunes are made. What does make “the perfect company”?
The search for the perfect company is not the pursuit of day-traders or market insiders. They’re looking for quick and dirty returns. High speed, high risk, high stress. No, the perfect company is more along the lines of what an individual investor - like you or I - would look for. I don’t want to have to have my hand on my mouse until the closing bell just to make sure I don’t lose my shirt. I want to buy a position in a company and know that regardless of what happens today or tomorrow, eight months from now, my portfolio will be worth more than today. I’m not talking about a laissez-faire approach to investing - far from it. What I’m talking about does take a time investment as well, in research, understanding the ins and outs of a company, but one that will be paid off in spades.
