Medco, Perrigo Are S&P 500 Gainers
NEW YORK (
) -- Shares of health care companies
Medco
(MHS)
and
Perrigo
(PRGO) - Get Report
were among the best
S&P 500
performers midday Tuesday while another health care company,
Becton Dickinson
(BDX) - Get Report
, was among the worst.
The
S&P 500
rose 2.28 points to 1,346.61 midday Tuesday.
Shares of Medco increased 2.24% to $59.78 despite news from
Bloomberg
that the Food Marketing Institute, which represents 26,000 food stores and 14,000 pharmacies, is urging the Federal Trade Commission to block the merger of Medco and
Express Scripts
(ESRX)
.
Medco shares fell more than 8% on Monday on news of a
possible FTC antitrust lawsuit
. If the two companies were to merge, the new combined company would have $110 billion in annual revenue, topping
CVS Caremark's
(CVS) - Get Report
$96 billion.
Medco has an estimated price-to-earnings ratio for next year of 13.21. The average among health care providers is 20.6. Express Scripts has a similarly low forward P/E of 13.84.
WellPoint
(WLP)
and
Aetna
(AET)
have forward P/Es of 7.51 and 7.77, respectively.
Of the 23 analysts who cover Medco, 12 rated it a buy and 11 considered it a hold.
TheStreet Ratings
gives Medco a B grade with a
price target. The stock has risen 6.78% year to date.
Perrigo, the pharmaceutical company, saw shares rise 2.89% to $96.73.
Perrigo reported Tuesday second-quarter adjusted earnings of $112.4 million, or $1.06 a share, above year-earlier adjusted income of $98.4 million, or 96 cents.
The pharmaceutical company also raised the lower end of its full-year earnings guidance by 5 cents to $4.70 a share. Full-year earnings guidance is between $4.70 and $4.80 a share.
Perrigo's forward P/E is 17.92. The average for pharmaceutical companies is 18.43.
Watson Pharmaceuticals
(WPI)
has a lower forward P/E of 10.29.
Of the 16 analysts who cover Perrigo, nine rated it a hold. Six analysts considered the stock a buy and one rated it a sell.
TheStreet Ratings
gives Perrigo an A- grade and
price target. The stock has declined 1.05% year to date.
Shares of Becton Dickinson fell 3.66% to $77.58 midday Tuesday.
The medical technology company announced Tuesday fiscal first-quarter earnings of $263 million, or $1.21 a share, down from year-ago first quarter earnings of $316 million, or $1.36.
Becton Dickinson lowered its full-year 2012 earnings per share guidance to between $5.60 and $5.70 from between $5.75 and $5.85 because of a stronger dollar.
The company has a forward P/E of 12.13. The average among medical supplies companies is 20.18.
C.R. Bard
(BCR)
has a slightly higher forward P/E of 13.24.
Of the 23 analysts who cover the company, 14 rated Becton Dickinson a hold. Eight of the analysts considered the stock a buy and one rated it a sell.
TheStreet Ratings
gives the company a B+ grade and
price target. The stock has risen 3.77% year to date.
-- Written by Alexandra Zendrian
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