Latest news with #pharmaceuticals
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trending tickers: AstraZeneca, Verizon, Opendoor, Trump Media and Lindt & Spruengli
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) FTSE 100-listed (^FTSE) pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca (AZN.L) announced plans to invest $50bn (£37.05bn) in the US by 2030, as the threat of president Donald Trump's tariffs loom over the sector. Astra (AZN.L) said in a statement on Monday that the cornerstone of this investment will be a new multi-billion dollar manufacturing facility in Virginia. In addition, the company said that the investment would go towards other facilities in the US, including a research and development centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as manufacturing facilities for cell therapy in Maryland and California. Read more: London stocks tread water as UK borrowing jumps above £20bn AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said that this investments would collectively help the company deliver its goal of reaching $80bn in total revenue by 2030, of which 50% is expected to be generated in the US. Shares in the company were little changed on Tuesday morning on the back of the announcement. The announcement comes as the Trump administration carries out a Section 232 probe to determine which drug manufacturers are operating in countries that pose a national security threat to the US. Trump teased earlier this month that an announcement around pharmaceuticals tariffs would be coming soon, saying in a cabinet meeting that the rate could be as high as 200%. Verizon Communications (VZ) Shares in Verizon Communications (VZ) closed Monday's session up 4%, after the telecommunications company posted second quarter results that beat expectations. The company reported revenue of $34.5bn for the quarter, versus estimates of $33.8bn, while adjusted earnings per share of $1.22 bested forecasts of $1.19. Read more: Gold prices hover near one-month high Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon (VZ), said: "With momentum and a clear path forward, we are raising our full-year guidance for adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow as we move into the second half of the year and advance toward closing the Frontier (FYBR) acquisition." Verizon (VZ) announced in September that it had agreed to buy telco Frontier Communications Parent (FYBR) in an all-cash transaction worth $20bn. In its results announcement on Monday, Verizon (VZ) said it expected adjusted earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation to grow by 2.5% to 3.5% in its 2025 fiscal year. Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) Shares in online real estate service Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) rose by nearly another 13% in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning, having soared more than 42% on Monday. At its peak on Monday, Opendoor's (OPEN) intraday rally reached as much as 115% before triggering a volatility-related trading halt in the stock near 3.00pm ET. The stock was halted for 10 minutes in the afternoon after the stock crossed the Nasdaq's volatility limit, which is triggered when a stock's share price moves too far and too quickly, depending on the per-share value of the stock. Read more: Stocks that are trending today Opendoor (OPEN) rocketed 188% last week, which came after activist investor Eric Jackson said he could see the company hitting $82 per share. Retail traders have piled into the stock since Jackson, founder of EMJ Capital, posted his bull thesis for an Opendoor turnaround on X on 14 July. Opendoor (OPEN) went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2020, with shares hitting a high of $39.24 in February 2021 before falling to under $1 each. The latest retail rally, fuelled by Jackson's thesis and speculative posts on the meme-stock Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets, has begun to push the company toward the $5 line that would lift it out of penny stock status. On Friday, the stock closed at $2.25 per share. Trump Media & Technology (DJT) Shares in Trump Media & Technology (DJT) popped 3% on Monday and were up nearly another 2% in pre-market trading on Tuesday. The rise in shares came after the company announced that it now holds $2bn worth of bitcoin (BTC-USD) and bitcoin-related securities. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio The holdings make up around two-thirds of the company's approximately $3bn in liquid assets. In addition, Trump Media (DJT) said that approximately $300m of additional capital has been allocated to an options acquisition strategy for bitcoin-related securities. The company said it plans to continue acquiring bitcoin and bitcoin and bitcoin-related assets and to convert its options into spot bitcoin, depending on market conditions. The price of bitcoin is up more than 26% year-to-date, recently crossing the $120,000 mark. Lindt & Spruengli ( In Europe, shares in Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli ( fell nearly 6% on Tuesday morning, after the company said price increases saw a decline in volumes in the first half of the year. In results released on Tuesday, Lindt ( posted 11.2% sales growth in the first half of 2025, to CHF2.35 billion (£2.18bn). The company said this was helped by price increases of 15.8%, which it said were "necessary" to offset record high cocoa costs. Read more: UK government borrowing higher than expected in June as debt costs rise However, Lindt ( said that "low price elasticity", especially in Europe, led to a moderate decline in volumes. Net income fell 13.3% in the first half to 188.9 Swiss francs compared to the same period last year. Adalbert Lechner, group CEO of Lindt & Spruengli ( said: "We have shown resilience in a challenging market environment. Innovations like our Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate aren't just new products, they're a reflection of how we connect with our consumers and reinforce our premium positioning." Read more: Stocks to watch this week: Tesla, Alphabet, Intel, Lloyds and JD Wetherspoon London IPO fundraising slumps in blow to UK Jobs data increases odds on Bank of England interest rate cutError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
10 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
How Will AbbVie's Neuroscience Franchise Perform in Q2 Earnings?
AbbVie ABBV holds a leadership position in the neuroscience space, which encompasses blockbuster medications such as Botox Therapeutic and depression drug Vraylar. Over the years, the company has further expanded this franchise to now include oral migraine drugs Qulipta and Ubrelvy and, most recently, Vyalev (for Parkinson's disease). Sales from the neuroscience segment accounted for over 17% of AbbVie's first-quarter revenues, which grew 16% year over year. Our model estimates second-quarter 2025 sales for the overall neuroscience franchise to be $2.5 billion, representing around 15% year-over-year growth. Higher sales of Botox Therapeutic and Vraylar are likely to have contributed to growth during the quarter. Sales of Ubrelvy and Qulipta might have benefited from market share gains across their respective approved indications. While Vyalev was recently launched in the United States and is expected to have delivered modest domestic revenues in the second quarter, the drug is already approved in several international markets. As such, a majority of Vyalev's second-quarter sales are likely to have come from ex-U.S. regions. Though AbbVie's neuroscience portfolio continues to grow meaningfully, investor focus will largely remain on its immunology franchise, which houses three flagship drugs — Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi. All eyes will be on the magnitude of their sequential growth and market share gains when the company reports second-quarter results on July 31. Competition in the Neuroscience Space Other bigger players in this space are Biogen BIIB and Johnson & Johnson JNJ. Despite the steeply declining revenues of its multiple sclerosis franchise, Biogen generates more than half of its top line from neuroscience therapies. BIIB is one of the handful of companies that markets an FDA-approved treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD), Leqembi, in partnership with Eisai. Biogen also markets Zurzuvae, the first and only FDA-approved oral treatment for postpartum depression (PPD). While not competing with Biogen directly in the neuroscience space, AbbVie is actively developing AD therapies as part of its neuroscience expansion strategy. J&J markets several leading neuroscience products, led by the blockbuster antidepressant nasal spray Spravato and antipsychotic drug Invega Sustenna. Both remain key growth drivers for the company's pharma unit. In April, J&J closed the acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, which added antidepressant drug Caplyta to its neuroscience portfolio. While already approved for schizophrenia and bipolar depression, a regulatory filing is under FDA review for the drug in a third indication — major depressive disorder — with a regulatory decision expected later this year. ABBV's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the industry year to date, as shown in the chart below. From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is not very cheap. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 14.06 times forward earnings, a tad lower than its industry's average of 14.60. The stock is cheaper than some other large drugmakers, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, but priced much higher than most other large drugmakers. The stock is currently trading above its five-year mean of 12.55. While the EPS estimates for 2025 have declined from $12.32 to $11.98, the same for 2026 have increased from $14.06 to $14.08 over the past 30 days. AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double" Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest. This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Biogen Inc. (BIIB): Free Stock Analysis Report Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report AbbVie Inc. (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
AstraZeneca to invest $50B in US as tariff threat looms
AstraZeneca plans to plough billions of pounds into US manufacturing as the drugs giant faces the threat of looming tariffs. There are also reports the FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant plans to abandon London as its home. AstraZeneca on Tuesday said it would invest $50 billion (£37.1 billion) in the US by 2030, creating 'tens of thousands' of highly skilled 'direct and indirect' jobs, while 'powering growth and delivering next generation medicines'. Boss Pascal Soriot told investors in April the drugmaker is 'firmly committed to investing and growing in the US' as the White House continues to threaten the sector with looming tariffs on US imports. President Donald Trump last week outlined a plan to introduce levies that would steadily climb higher over time with the potential to hit 200 per cent after a 'year, year and a half'. Trump said: 'We're going to start off with a low tariff and then give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build and then we're going to make it a very high tariff. 'There's two ways you do it. You make money and/or you have them move here so they don't have to pay the tariff.' Howard Lutnick, US Secretary of Commerce, said on Thursday: 'For decades Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products. President Trump and our nation's new tariff policies are focused on ending this structural weakness.' It also comes amid reports Soriot is weighing moving AstraZeneca's headquarters away from the UK as well as its main stock market listing. Soriot, 66, has lambasted the UK and the rest of Europe for falling behind other countries such as the US and China in developing medicines. AstraZeneca is planning its 'largest single manufacturing investment in the world' in the state of Virginia, with the site earmarked to produce drug substances for its weight management and metabolic portfolio. 'The facility will leverage AI, automation, and data analytics to optimise production,' AstraZeneca said. The rest of the investment will boost AstraZeneca's existing R&D and manufacturing facilities among other plans. AstraZeneca said the investments will help deliver its target of reaching $80 billion in total revenue by 2030, of which it expects 50 per cent would be generated in the US. Soriot said: 'Today's announcement underpins our belief in America's innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally.' UK government 'will be kicking itself' AstraZeneca's decision will come as a blow to the Labour government as it struggles to encourage firm's to invest in the UK. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the government 'will be kicking itself', with the country set to miss out on associated economic benefits of the investment. He added: 'That money, if invested in the UK, would have created a large number of jobs and help shine a light on the country for scientific excellence. 'AstraZeneca pulling out of a £450 million vaccine plant expansion in Liverpool earlier this year was the big clue that it was losing patience with the UK government. 'At the time, it hinted that without a certain level of support, it wasn't financially viable to invest that money. The previous government had pledged £90 million in grants and other aid, but the support was cut when Labour came to power. 'The more business it does in...[the US], the greater the likelihood that investors might push for AstraZeneca to switch its main stock listing to the US. That would be bad for the UK stock market as it is one of the biggest names in the FTSE 100.'
Khaleej Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
France's Sanofi to acquire biotech firm Vicebio for $1.15 billion
French pharmaceuticals company Sanofi said on Tuesday it would acquire British private biotechnology firm Vicebio for a total of $1.15 billion, expanding its respiratory vaccine portfolio. Following the acquisition, Vicebio's non-mRNA candidate vaccine for treating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) will be added to Sanofi's range. The Vicebio deal includes a potential milestone payment of up to $450 million based on development and research achievements, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Sanofi will also obtain "Molecular Clamp" technology aimed at enabling quicker development of fully liquid combination vaccines that can be stored at standard refrigeration temperatures, eliminating the need for freezing or freeze-drying. The British company is the latest in a string of acquisitions by Sanofi, which recently finalised an up to $9.5 billion deal for U.S.-based Blueprint Medicines Corporation. Sanofi said that the acquisition will not impact its annual guidance.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trending tickers: AstraZeneca, Verizon, Opendoor, Trump Media and Lindt & Spruengli
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) FTSE 100-listed (^FTSE) pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca (AZN.L) announced plans to invest $50bn (£37.05bn) in the US by 2030, as the threat of president Donald Trump's tariffs loom over the sector. Astra (AZN.L) said in a statement on Monday that the cornerstone of this investment will be a new multi-billion dollar manufacturing facility in Virginia. In addition, the company said that the investment would go towards other facilities in the US, including a research and development centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as manufacturing facilities for cell therapy in Maryland and California. Read more: London stocks tread water as UK borrowing jumps above £20bn AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said that this investments would collectively help the company deliver its goal of reaching $80bn in total revenue by 2030, of which 50% is expected to be generated in the US. Shares in the company were little changed on Tuesday morning on the back of the announcement. The announcement comes as the Trump administration carries out a Section 232 probe to determine which drug manufacturers are operating in countries that pose a national security threat to the US. Trump teased earlier this month that an announcement around pharmaceuticals tariffs would be coming soon, saying in a cabinet meeting that the rate could be as high as 200%. Verizon Communications (VZ) Shares in Verizon Communications (VZ) closed Monday's session up 4%, after the telecommunications company posted second quarter results that beat expectations. The company reported revenue of $34.5bn for the quarter, versus estimates of $33.8bn, while adjusted earnings per share of $1.22 bested forecasts of $1.19. Read more: Gold prices hover near one-month high Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon (VZ), said: "With momentum and a clear path forward, we are raising our full-year guidance for adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow as we move into the second half of the year and advance toward closing the Frontier (FYBR) acquisition." Verizon (VZ) announced in September that it had agreed to buy telco Frontier Communications Parent (FYBR) in an all-cash transaction worth $20bn. In its results announcement on Monday, Verizon (VZ) said it expected adjusted earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation to grow by 2.5% to 3.5% in its 2025 fiscal year. Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) Shares in online real estate service Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) rose by nearly another 13% in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning, having soared more than 42% on Monday. At its peak on Monday, Opendoor's (OPEN) intraday rally reached as much as 115% before triggering a volatility-related trading halt in the stock near 3.00pm ET. The stock was halted for 10 minutes in the afternoon after the stock crossed the Nasdaq's volatility limit, which is triggered when a stock's share price moves too far and too quickly, depending on the per-share value of the stock. Read more: Stocks that are trending today Opendoor (OPEN) rocketed 188% last week, which came after activist investor Eric Jackson said he could see the company hitting $82 per share. Retail traders have piled into the stock since Jackson, founder of EMJ Capital, posted his bull thesis for an Opendoor turnaround on X on 14 July. Opendoor (OPEN) went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2020, with shares hitting a high of $39.24 in February 2021 before falling to under $1 each. The latest retail rally, fuelled by Jackson's thesis and speculative posts on the meme-stock Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets, has begun to push the company toward the $5 line that would lift it out of penny stock status. On Friday, the stock closed at $2.25 per share. Trump Media & Technology (DJT) Shares in Trump Media & Technology (DJT) popped 3% on Monday and were up nearly another 2% in pre-market trading on Tuesday. The rise in shares came after the company announced that it now holds $2bn worth of bitcoin (BTC-USD) and bitcoin-related securities. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio The holdings make up around two-thirds of the company's approximately $3bn in liquid assets. In addition, Trump Media (DJT) said that approximately $300m of additional capital has been allocated to an options acquisition strategy for bitcoin-related securities. The company said it plans to continue acquiring bitcoin and bitcoin and bitcoin-related assets and to convert its options into spot bitcoin, depending on market conditions. The price of bitcoin is up more than 26% year-to-date, recently crossing the $120,000 mark. Lindt & Spruengli ( In Europe, shares in Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli ( fell nearly 6% on Tuesday morning, after the company said price increases saw a decline in volumes in the first half of the year. In results released on Tuesday, Lindt ( posted 11.2% sales growth in the first half of 2025, to CHF2.35 billion (£2.18bn). The company said this was helped by price increases of 15.8%, which it said were "necessary" to offset record high cocoa costs. Read more: UK government borrowing higher than expected in June as debt costs rise However, Lindt ( said that "low price elasticity", especially in Europe, led to a moderate decline in volumes. Net income fell 13.3% in the first half to 188.9 Swiss francs compared to the same period last year. Adalbert Lechner, group CEO of Lindt & Spruengli ( said: "We have shown resilience in a challenging market environment. Innovations like our Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate aren't just new products, they're a reflection of how we connect with our consumers and reinforce our premium positioning." Read more: Stocks to watch this week: Tesla, Alphabet, Intel, Lloyds and JD Wetherspoon London IPO fundraising slumps in blow to UK Jobs data increases odds on Bank of England interest rate cutError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
