Health Stock Winners and Losers: Bristol, Glaxo

Bristol announces it will reaffirm its earnings guidance, and Glaxo acquires a 16% stake in South African firm Aspen Pharmacare.

Author:: Samantha Shaddock
Publish date:: May 12, 2009 3:12 PM EDT

Bristol announces it will reaffirm its earnings guidance, and Glaxo acquires a 16% stake in South African firm Aspen Pharmacare.

Updated from 12:42 p.m. EDT

Health care stocks were faring well Tuesday, this 12th day of May, despite a undulating broader market.

Bristol-Myers Squibb

(BMY) - Get Report

announced Tuesday that it would confirm its earnings forecast at the Bank of America and Merrill Lynch Health Care Conference on Wednesday in New York. Last month the company said it expects full-year earnings in the range of $1.58 to $1.73 a share. Bristol shares were tacking on 1% to $20.50 in recent trading.

GlaxoSmithKline

(GSK) - Get Report

announced that it was acquiring a 16% stake in South Africa-based

Aspen Pharmacare

in exchange for a divestiture of assets including eight specialist medicines and a manufacturing facility in Bad Oldesloe, Germany.

Glaxo said the impact of this transaction to earnings per share is expected to be accretive in 2009 and slightly dilutive in 2010. Glaxo shares were recently up 2.9% to $31.83.

Pfizer

(PFE) - Get Report

shares were rising after analysts Credit Suisse called the stock undervalued given the company's impending merger with

Wyeth

(WYE)

. The analysts also said the company could raise its dividend soon, according to

The Associated Press



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Also on Tuesday, Pfizer announced that Greg Simon, former president of FasterCures, is its new senior vice president for worldwide policy. Simon, who holds a law degree and was a chief domestic policy advisor for Vice President Al Gore, will be responsible for counsel and action on health care, science and technology policy issues. Pfizer shares were recently up 5.2% to $14.88.

Novo Nordisk

(NVO) - Get Report

shares were up 2.7% to $50.18. Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on the stock with a "buy" rating.

Eli Lilly

(LLY) - Get Report

shares were up 1.1% to $35.74.

Merck

(MRK) - Get Report

was up 1.9% to $24.87.