Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY)

BMY was going down before their Celgene purchase, which was a good deal (he owned Celgene) at a bargain. BMY didn't do anything particularly wrong; their drugs are doing well. However, Merck is the dominant player in this space with better science, and so is his preferred pick. Better to hold a basket of health stocks though to lessen risk in holding individual health stocks--science keeps changing.

(A Top Pick Aug 10/17, Down 1%) It went back down to where he recommended it. He still really likes the company. They were put back into second place so the stock came down. He thinks investors should consider buy it again. It was almost a Top Pick.

The healthcare sector tends to be known as a defensive sector, because of the stability of earnings. The issue this year was that President Trump threatened to come after the pharma sector for medication costs. Seasonally the sector tends to do best from August into October. He would wait on this for a short term test of support $47 and this could be the level to get into. (Analysts’ price target is $59 )

It is consolidating here. He suspects that the announcements from the trump Administration on American Patients First affected it. Pharmaceutical companies in general are being affected. Not looking too favorable on a technical basis.

The whole pharma sector is suffering with pricing pressures. They have issues with a new drug they have come out with. He would stay away.

(A Top Pick Feb 8/17, Down 1%) You should have taken profits on the way up. The major market for cancer is lung, with the most profit. These guys are one of two leaders in this industry, neck and neck with MRK-N, the other player. There were whispers of other companies possibly taking BMY-N out. He still likes it and encourages investors to buy a bit of it.

They did a great job bringing on oncology products to fight cancer, but beyond oncology he's not excited about Bristol. There are better companies.

They have a few cancer drugs out of the pipeline that are growing. That said, their shares aren't cheap enough to step in. The problem is if the FDA decides to change their labelling that would turn a $5-billion drug into a $1-billion one. The dividend is secure. While all these companies are making money, the struggle lies in earnings growth.

(A Top Pick Nov 1/16. Up 26%.) Still a top holding across all his funds. Likes its innovative pipeline of drugs, especially its immuno ecology for fighting cancer. Thinks it has the strongest portfolio out there. Because of their strong pipeline, this would be an M&A target. Repatriation of cash by a lot of majors will spur M&A in healthcare.