by Charles Mizrahi, editor Hidden Values AlertAstraZeneca PLC (
AZN), a global biopharmaceutical company, is our latest Prime Time Portfolio featured update.
AstraZeneca's
medicines include antibiotic, Merrem/Meronem and Losec/Prilosec for
acid related diseases. Here's why we continue to like the shares.
AZN's recent drop off can be attributed directly to the loss of
exclusivity on several brands, increased competition from generic
alternatives and the struggling European market.
Despite that,
we are still up 15% since we added AZN to our portfolio back in December
2010 and continue to see bright things in the company's future.
Strong cash flow: AZN was able to return $3.7 billion to
shareholders in 2011 due to their excess cash. They continue to be
aggressive buyer of their stock and plan on spending $4.5 billion on
buybacks this year alone.
Stability: Three of the their
key drugs posted more than $13 billion in sales over the past few years,
which made up for approximately 40% of the company's total sales.
Those
patents are not set to expire for another 4 years, which should give
the company stability while they try to build up the other key drugs in
their large portfolio.
New products: AZN is in the process of developing several key drugs that experts believe can develop into multi-billion dollar products.
For
example, the company recently received the approval of their new
cardiovascular drug Brilinta, and they believe they have created a niche
for themselves in the cancer treatment market with a product that will
better treat stomach and esophageal cancer.
There are no
competitors using a drug like this today, and if AZN is successful in
developing this drug they would take a firm hold of the cancer market.
Penetrating
the diabetes market: AZN recently took a step forward in penetrating
into the diabetes market, which is one of the largest in the industry.
They recently partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop a new drug
for type 2 diabetes treatments.
In addition, BMY's recent
purchase of Amylin, a biopharmaceutical company that focuses strictly on
diabetes treatments, allows both BMY and AZN to develop and
commercialize all of AMLN's products as well.