Stocks: (JNJ)(BSX)(STJ)
It has only been a few days since Merrill Lynch said that Bank of America may be buying Barclays. The results were humiliating for Merrill. The Barclays denial was only faster than the one from B of A.
A good way for analysts to get their names in the media is to speculate about M&A targets and public company buy-outs. But, is it good analysis and is it responsible? Maybe not.
Merrill Lynch is saying that St Jude Medical, which makes medical devices, might be snapped up. The snapper is alledgedly Johnson & Johnson. The reason seems to be that JNJ wanted to buy Guidant, but Boston Scientific got there first. So, St Jude is the prized for finishing second. According to The New Yort Times the analyst said "Johnson & Johnson “likely has the greatest financial flexibility” to acquire St. Jude.
That’s great, but it does not say that JNJ has called St. Jude, talked to them, or that any deal is in the works.
It is, in essence, good PR for the analyst and a waste of time for Wall St.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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