Monday's Health Winners & Losers

Genentech trades lower.
By Elizabeth Trotta ,

Health stocks largely flat-lined Tuesday, while new interim data tugged at

Genentech

(DNA)

and a lingering drug study continued to weigh on

Schering-Plough

(SGP)

.

On Friday, U.S. House Democrats John Dingell and Bart Stupak said that an investigation piqued questions about meeting minutes documented by

Merck

(MRK) - Get Report

and Schering-Plough on their now infamous ENHANCE trial for the cholesterol drug Vytorin. Dingell and Stupak say the minutes were created after-the-fact to appease lawmakers.

Merck shares were trading up 0.7% at $41.42 on Monday, but Schering's shares gave up 4% to $16.52.

Both stocks are components of the Amex pharmaceutical index, which was relatively flat.

The Amex biotechnology index edged down 0.5% to 764.74. Components in the green included

Celgene

(CELG) - Get Report

and

Invitrogen

(IVGN)

. Celgene added 1% to $63.28, while Invitrogen nudged up 1.6% to $87.48, both on lighter-than-average volume.

Index components in the red included

InterMune

(ITMN)

and Genentech. InterMune shares gave up 3.9%, to $17.20, while Genentech shed 2.7% to $74.73.

Bear Stearns analyst Mark Schoenebaum sent a note to investors Monday alerting them of interim survival data from the AVAIL trial comparing chemotherapy alone to low and high doses of Genentech's Avastin in addition to chemotherapy in lung cancer.

Schoenebaum said that the interim survival data -- based on 50% of the events to occur in the trial -- are not statistically significant for either dose. Based on the data Schoenebaum said the probability has increased that only the low dose arm -- or possibly neither dose -- will reach statistical significance in the trial, which could hurt sales of the drug in lung cancer. But, he cautioned that the data are interim and that the trial uses a different chemotherapy regimen than is typical in the U.S. Genentech's shares were trading down 2.7% to $74.68.

Genentech commenced earnings season last week. Here are a few health stocks to look for in earnings on Tuesday:

On Tuesday look for

Johnson & Johnson

(JNJ) - Get Report

and

Forest Laboratories

(FRX)

. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for J&J to earn $1.20 a share, on revenue of $15.8 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported earning $1.16 a share, before items, and revenue of $15.04 billion.

Meanwhile, analysts are looking for 77 cents a share on $976 million in revenue, on average, from Forest Labs, which earned 74 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $885.4 million in the comparable 2007 quarter.

Loading ...