Health and Healthcare

Analyst's Top Pharmaceutical Buys Offer Big Dividends and Growth Potential

Lee Jackson

Published: December 1, 2016 8:10 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 5:15 pm

Ever since the fall of last year when Hillary Clinton spoke out on high drug prices, the top stocks in the pharmaceutical sector have taken a beating. With Clinton defeated and the Republicans controlling both houses of Congress, it’s a pretty good bet that while there may still be some pressure to control pricing, as many top drugs remain very expensive, draconian government price controls seem, at least for now, very unlikely.

With the top pharmaceutical stocks trailing the market by a large margin, they are starting to look very attractive for long-term growth and income investors. We screened the Merrill Lynch research database for the highest yielding companies that were also rated Buy. We found four that look like outstanding values now.

Abbott Laboratories

Shares of this top pharmaceutical stock with very solid growth potential are down over 15% from highs hit last summer. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is a leading diversified global health care company that develops, manufactures and markets branded generics, medical devices, nutritional products and diagnostic solutions.

The company recently agreed to acquire the equity in Minnesota-based Tendyne Holdings that it does not already own for $250 million plus future payments tied to regulatory milestones. Wall Street likes the purchase and the way the company is putting its substantial balance sheet to work.

The company also offers a diversified large cap play as earnings are split between five well-positioned business segments: Nutritionals (31% of revenues), Vascular (13%), Generic Pharmaceuticals (20%) and Diagnostics (25.5%) and Diabetes (10.5%).

Back in July, CEO Miles White, who has been at the firm for over three decades, bought a stunning $45.5 million worth of company stock, which added to his already substantial holdings. The purchase made him one of the top 100 shareholders.

Abbott Labs investors receive a 2.73% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target for the stock is $50. The Wall Street consensus target is $47.38. The shares closed Wednesday at $38.07.

Eli Lilly

This is another stock with substantial upside potential. Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) is a global health care company with numerous core products in a number of primary-care pharmaceutical markets. The company generates revenues from its pharmaceutical product and animal health segments.

The product portfolio includes Zyprexa (for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), Gemzar (pancreatic cancer), Evista (osteoporosis), Cymbalta (depression), Cialis (erectile dysfunction), Strattera (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Erbitux (cancer) and Alimta (chemotherapy). Eli Lilly also has a strong presence in the diabetes market.

The company posted third-quarter sales and earnings well below Wall Street’s expectations, prompting shares to plummet to a four-month low before rebounding. The stock is down almost 10% on the year and offering investors an outstanding entry point. Top analysts on Wall Street are still very focused on the company’s outstanding late-stage product pipeline, which they and others on Wall Street view as very undervalued.

Last week the company announced a disappointing Phase 3 trial for its Alzheimer’s drug solanezumab, which missed the primary and secondary endpoints. While the analysts are forced to remove potential earnings from their model due to the failure, they remain positive on the stock based on “Underappreciated growth, driven by the diabetes base business, baricitinib and abemaciclib.”

Shareholders receive a 3.05% dividend. Merrill Lynch lowered its price objective to $90 from $105, and the consensus price target is $97.05. Shares closed Wednesday at $67.12.

Merck

This leading health care stock is on the focus lists of many of the firms we cover. Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) offers therapeutic and preventive agents to treat cardiovascular issues, type 2 diabetes, asthma, nasal allergy symptoms, allergic rhinitis, chronic hepatitis C virus, HIV-1 infection, fungal infections, intra-abdominal infections, hypertension, arthritis and pain, inflammatory, osteoporosis, male pattern hair loss and fertility diseases.

The company also provides neuromuscular blocking agents for use in surgery, anti-bacterial products for skin and skin structure infections, cholesterol modifying medicines, non-sedating antihistamine and vaginal contraceptive products. Other products to prevent chemotherapy-induced and post-operative nausea and vomiting, treat brain tumors, treat melanoma and metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer and prevent diseases caused by human papillomavirus, as well as vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, chickenpox, shingles, rotavirus gastroenteritis and pneumococcal diseases.

Further, it provides antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs to treat infectious and respiratory diseases, fertility disorders, and pneumonia in cattle, horses and swine; vaccines for poultry; parasiticide for sea lice in salmon; and antibiotics for the treatment of C. difficile, and vaccines against bacterial and viral disease in fish.

The Merrill Lynch analysts noted this after earnings were reported:

Merck reported third quarter 2016 earnings-per-share EPS of $1.07, above our $0.98 estimate (consensus was at $0.99), driven by a solid topline and judicious cost control. Merck’s anticipated dominance of first line lung cancer and attractive event path were the central tenets of our recent upgrade.

Merck shareholders receive a 3.07% dividend. The $71 Merrill Lynch price target is well above the consensus target of $66.11. The shares closed yesterday at $61.19.

Pfizer

This top pharmaceutical stock made a gigantic splash earlier this year with a $5.5 billion purchase of Anacor Pharmaceuticals. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) has a very strong pipeline, and being the world’s largest drug manufacturer by sales value supports the Wall Street notion that the company can generate higher long-term revenues through the accelerated growth of its new drugs over the next five years.

The company continued its acquisition plans when it announced another gigantic purchase, acquiring Medivation, a biotech focusing on oncology drugs for a stunning $14 billion. Medivation’s drug, Xtandi, already generates about $2 billion in yearly sales and has the potential to more than double, according to analysts. Pfizer said the deal would add five cents to earnings in the first full year after closing and isn’t expected to affect its 2016 financial guidance. Pfizer said it plans to finance the transaction with its cash holdings.

Top Wall Street analysts feel that the election of Donald Trump will help companies like Pfizer repatriate some of the huge cash holdings they have overseas. With the tax rate on cash held offshore expected to be lowered, the value for this great company even goes higher.

Investors receive a 3.75% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a $36 price target for the stock, which is down 15% since August. The consensus target is $37.86, and shares closed Wednesday at $32.14.

Needless to say, the recovery of big pharmaceutical stocks may not happen overnight, so investors need to remain patient. However, all these top companies will continue to pay, and most likely raise, their dividends. That makes the wait very worthwhile, as investors will get paid while they wait.