merck

M&A in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries continues. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) just announced it has agreed to acquire Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) for $5.3 billion. And Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) has opened itself up to bidders, including GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE...

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) seems to be in a sphere all by itself these days, and its fiscal second-quarter results no doubt will be the highlight of the earnings reports due this week. However, others also on tap this week to share their results for the most recent quarter include Amazon.com (NASDAQ:...

Lots more earnings are on the schedule for this week, even as the calendar page turns. Look for quarterly results to come from Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Kellogg (NYSE: K), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS). Analysts expect...

The earnings crunch is in full swing this this week. Quarterly results are due from the likes of Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), from which analysts expect to see year-over-year earnings growth, as well as...

Health care companies Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Quidel (NASDAQ: QDEL) reached new 52-week highs of $32.75 and $17.21 per share, respectively, in Wednesday's trading session. Bristol-Myers saw its price target boosted by a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst yesterday on belief that...

These nine stocks have bounced back from sell-offs in August, and their share prices are more than 30% higher than a month ago. Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) shares are trading more than 60% higher than a month ago, despite pulling back more than 17% in the past week. Recent buyout rumors and the halt...

The earnings crunch continues this week even as the month of July winds to a close. Quarterly reports of note scheduled for the week include those from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Dow Chemical (...

iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare Provider (NYSE: IHF) is up more than 19% year to date. The fund invests at least 90% of its assets in securities of the underlying index, which measures the performance of the health care providers sector of the U.S. equity market. Top holdings include UnitedHealth...

PowerShares S&P SmallCap Health Care (NYSE: PSCH) is up nearly 22% year to date. The investment seeks to replicate the S&P SmallCap 600 Capped Health Care index, which is comprised of common stocks of U.S. health care companies. Top holdings include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN...

First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX (NYSE: FXG) is up more than 20% year to date. The investment seeks results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index. Top holdings include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR),...

Morgan Stanley reiterated its Equal-weight rating on Merck (NYSE: MRK). At the moment, Morgan Stanley has a price target of $34 placed on the company's stock. On Thursday, Merck ended the day $34.97. Its shares added 0.49% to their value in today's pre-market trading to stand around $35.14.

  MAKING THE VALUE PROPOSITION FOR STAR SCIENTIFIC Tobacco could kill one billion people this century -(Reuters) Part one: CigRx™, the over-the-counter nutraceutical that reduces the urge to smoke. My recent reports on Star Scientific have dealt largely with...