The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: DaVita, Fresenius, Baxter, Amgen and CVS

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –July 12, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: DaVita Inc. DVA, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA FMS, Baxter International Inc. BAX, Amgen Inc. AMGN and CVS Health Corp. CVS.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

New Order on Kidney Care Lifts These Dialysis Stocks

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at reforming kidney treatment for over 37 million Americans suffering from any kind of kidney ailment. The Trump administration stated that it is the first kidney-centric executive order since 1973. By the way, Trump’s executive order is also designed to save the U.S. government millions of dollars, according to the administration officials. After all, more than $110 billion a year is required for treating this deadly disease, per government data.

So, what will the executive order do? It will develop new payment models to encourage more kidney transplants and provide affordable alternative treatments including at-home dialysis treatments instead of more expensive treatment centers.

Trump said in a speech in Washington that “We’re taking groundbreaking action to bring new hope to millions of Americans suffering from Kidney disease.” Needless to say that nearly 30 million Americans are currently suffering from chronic kidney disease and shockingly many are not even diagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Trump’s executive order comes two days after a federal judge in Washington, D.C. rejected the government’s rule that would have compelled drug manufacturers to disclose the list price of their drugs in television ads. The Trump administration has also instructed hospitals and insurers to disclose negotiating rates for services. Notably, higher health-care cost has become a nightmare for individuals and the Trump administration is making every effort to lower prices for consumers, keeping 2020 elections in mind.

Nonetheless, the push for at-home care fits the business models of dialysis giants DaVita Inc. and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA. DaVita’s new CEO Javier Rodriguez has already said that the company has been investing heavily in kidney care expansion.

Rodriguez said “We been investing in capabilities to deliver holistic care that addresses our patients' needs beyond kidney disease, such as mental health, social services and nutrition.” Rodriguez also added “We will continue to work with the Administration and Congress to launch programs that address broader care opportunities.”

Fresenius, in the meantime, stated that it is working on remote health monitoring, predictive analytics and algorithmic clinical insights to help individuals in need of medical attention, and help reduce “unnecessary as well as costly hospitalizations.”

Shares of DaVita and Fresenius ticked up 4% and 2.5% following Trump’s signing of the executive order on Jul 10. In fact, DaVita’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 18.5% compared with the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry’s projected rally of 10.4%. Similarly, Fresenius which is part of the Medical - Instruments industry is widely expected to notch an earnings growth of 5.7% for the current year.

The executive order also boosts business for companies like Baxter International Inc., Amgen Inc. and CVS Health Corp., to name a few.

Baxter International is known for offering peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, and additional dialysis therapies and services. The company has announced its full support of the Administration’s Advancing American Kidney Health Initiative. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 8.9%, higher than the Medical - Products industry’s estimated rally of 7%. Incidentally, Baxter flaunts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It offers products for the treatment of oncology/hematology, cardiovascular, inflammation, bone health, and neuroscience. At the same time, it is known for manufacturing drugs like Parsabiv to treat chronic kidney disease. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 6%, more than the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry’s projected growth of 5.7%.

CVS Health that provides health services and plans in the United States is also looking forward to target growth in home dialysis. The company stated it is already working on its home hemodialysis device. The company, which is part of the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry, is projected to notch an earnings growth of 3.8% for the next year.

Shares of Baxter, Amgen and CVS Health gained 0.9%, 0.4% and 1%, respectively, on Jul 10.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!      

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.

Click here for the 6 trades >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com                       

https://www.zacks.com

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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
 
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
DaVita Inc. (DVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CVS Health Corporation (CVS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research