Here’s Why These Five Stocks Are in the Spotlight

Now that it isn’t in the regulatory eye anymore (as a certain mega-bank and the maker of EpiPen have taken some of the glare away), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) announced that its Patient Access and Price Committee has, effective October 14, made some price increases the company’s neurology, GI, and urology portfolios. The price hikes are in the range of 2.0% to 9.0% and are aligned with the Committee’s commitment that the average annual price increase will be set at no greater than single digits and below the 5-year weighted average of the rises within the branded biopharmaceutical industry. In reaction to the news, Wells Fargo analyst David Maris said that the hikes might be a result of ‘disappointing prescription trends’. Maris thinks the Street’s estimates for Valeant are too high for 2017 and has an ‘Underperform’ recommendation. A total of 60 funds from our database owned $2.12 billion worth of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)’s stock, which accounted for 30.80% of the float on June 30, versus 71 funds and $3.15 billion, respectively, on March 31.

Although Bernie Sanders won’t be the next President of the United States, his tweets nevertheless can have a strong impact on stocks. Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) shares fell 14.7% on Friday after the Senator from Vermont tweeted: “Drug corporations’ greed is unbelievable. Ariad has raised the price of a leukemia drug to almost $199,000 a year.” Although it isn’t clear how the tweet might affect Ariad, many investors remember the effect of the regulatory spotlight on Valeant, Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL), and others and headed for the exits. The number of funds tracked by us with holdings in Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) rose by one quarter-over-quarter to 27 at the end of June.

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