Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
November 1, 2022
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(BARGAIN DEAL FOR A QUALITY STOCK)
(ABBV), (ABT), (RGNX), (JNJ), (MRK), (GILD), (AMGN), (LLY), (BMY), (PFE)
Tag Archive for: (AMGN)
Uncertainty. That’s the prevalent sentiment in the investment community these days.
Investors have been hesitant to buy stocks because they believe the bear market isn’t over yet.
Moreover, investors are anxious over the possibility that the stocks will keep falling as issues like higher inflation continue to hound the market.
However, it’s critical to remember that although today’s situation is challenging, it’s only temporary. This means that businesses with solid track records and promising prospects still make excellent buys.
One of the companies outperforming the market this year but which has fallen out of investors’ favor recently, is AbbVie (ABBV).
AbbVie stock has been declining in value lately following an underwhelming third-quarter earnings report. On top of that, the looming patent expiration of its top-selling drug Humira remains a significant concern among investors.
While the Humira situation is clearly not good news for the company, the reality is that AbbVie has impressively preserved the medication’s exclusivity for almost a decade longer than initially expected. Plus, the company has been boosting Humira pricing every year to cope with the declining revenues in the EU, where it already lost patent protection in 2018.
Hence, it’s acceptable for Humira’s chapter in AbbVie’s story to end. After all, the drug has given the company so much. It has been primarily responsible for the more than 325% climb in the company’s share price since 2012 when AbbVie was spun out of Abbott Laboratories (ABT).
Nonetheless, Humira’s impending patent loss doesn’t mean that AbbVie will simply abandon its roots.
The company has since developed potential successors of Humira, namely, Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
So far, the two auto-immune drugs have delivered promising results and are on track to keep the company in tip-top shape in its post-Humira era.
These newer immunology drugs are showing impressive growth potential, with Rinvoq recording a 56% increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2022 and Skyrizi revenue soaring by 85%.
Both are also on track to beat Humira’s peak sales, with joint peak sales from Skyrizi and Rinvoq initially estimated to reach roughly $15 billion.
However, recent revenue reports show that the two could surpass the estimate and completely eclipse Humira’s more than $20 billion annual return.
Obviously, AbbVie would require more than its immunology segment if it plans to sustain a good top and bottom-line growth trajectory.
Other than the more than 10 neuroscience, hematology, immunology, and oncology candidates in its pipeline, which are projected to be ready for market launches in the three to five years, AbbVie has been diving into the aesthetics and eye care markets.
Its eye care program, specifically RGX-314, which is currently being developed in partnership with Regenxbio (RGNX), is an interesting wildcard. For context, the eye care segments for wet and dry advanced macular degeneration are roughly worth over $10 billion to $20 billion annually.
With its Humira chapter closing, AbbVie could be ushering in a new era where products from its Allergan acquisition take the lead.
For example, its Botox franchise consistently delivers impressive results. Even its Botox for migraine line has been recording double-digit revenue growth in the third quarter, indicating gains in AbbVie’s neuroscience segment.
As for the aesthetic indications of Botox, this particular portfolio could be a key driver in the company’s future growth.
Aside from Botox, AbbVie also gained access to the widely used dermal filler Juvederm. With the facial aesthetics industry pegged to experience a compound annual growth rate yearly at 14%, the market is estimated to hit $15.2 billion by 2028.
This trend of AbbVie dominating the market is likely to continue as the company is confident that competitors would be unable to develop biosimilars of Botox. That means its Botox line could keep adding to its top-line growth for an extended period.
Overall, AbbVie is a solid bet among the “Big 8” in the pharmaceutical world, which includes Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Amgen (AMGN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), and Pfizer (PFE).
Moreover, this is an excellent time to hunt for deals as several quality stocks continue to decline, affected negatively partly by the momentum of the broader market. Among stocks to consider, AbbVie should be at the top of your list.
Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
October 27, 2022
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(A HIDDEN TREASURE IN THESE TURBULENT TIMES)
(BMY), (AMGN)
Biotechnology and healthcare companies are not exactly the thrilling investments that tech stocks or other growth-centered businesses tend to be described as.
Nonetheless, one of the reasons I find this sector attractive is that the companies can offer steady growth in extensively diverse markets.
From biopharmaceutical treatments to household items, the products these businesses develop are the kinds people tend to need and use regularly constantly.
While the biotechnology and healthcare sector doesn’t always beat the general market, the combo of steady growth, resilient returns, and reliable dividends generally make it an incredibly attractive option for investors.
Among the companies in this segment, one of the names you can buy and hold in the long run is Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY).
BMY is hailed as the seventh-biggest biopharmaceutical company across the globe in terms of sales. In 2021, the business recorded $46.4 billion in total revenue, which was up by 9% from 2020.
More than half of BMY’s revenue last year was generated from sales of three of its best-selling treatments: multiple myeloma drug Revlimid, Eliquis, and cancer treatment Opdivo.
The full-year revenue for all three drugs jumped that year, with Revlimid climbing by 6% to reach $12.8 billion, blood thinning medication Eliquis rising by 17% to hit $10.8 billion, and Opdivo increasing by 8% to record $7.5 billion.
Despite the impressive performance of these top-selling products, BMY has been diversifying its portfolio to cover a vast lineup of candidates in the fields of immunology, hematology, and, of course, oncology.
The healthcare giant has also grown, in part, through acquisitions, and part of its 2021 revenue of $46 billion, which was twice more than its 2018 revenue of $23 billion, came from these efforts. Moreover, BMY has reported a free cash flow of roughly $13 billion for two consecutive years.
In 2022, BMY reported a lackluster third-quarter performance. While the company’s revenue slid by 3% to $11.2 billion, the stock still climbed 2.31%.
This could be attributed to the fact that BMY managed to beat expectations as analysts predicted a more significant drop due to foreign exchange impacts.
Aside from these, Revlimid has been dealing with increased competition worldwide in the past months. Specifically, this bone marrow cancer drug has been facing “generic erosion” thanks to the emergence of cheaper alternatives in the market.
Picking up the slack from Revlimid is Eliquis, which has become the company’s top performer in terms of revenue and projected growth. Sales for this drug rose by 10% in the third quarter to reach $2.66 billion.
Meanwhile, sales of BMY’s newly launched products jumped 61% to record $553 million.
Future growth is anticipated to be led by Sotyktu, an oral drug for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis that recently gained FDA approval.
In the US alone, roughly 7.5 million individuals suffer from psoriasis. This is a promising market for BMY, which has been aggressively searching for products to rejuvenate its portfolio.
Since it was only recently approved, Sotyktu’s contribution to BMY’s revenue has yet to be proven. However, the drug recorded better results than Amgen’s (AMGN) blockbuster drug Otezla, which raked in $2.25 billion in sales in 2021.
Given the released data, target market, and more promising results from Sotyktu, BMY’s drug is estimated to reach peak sales at $4.2 billion by 2028.
Overall, BMY is an excellent bet during these turbulent times. In the past 10 years, the company has generated total returns, including dividends, of 190%.
This isn’t far from the 223% returns recorded by the S&P 500. Moreover, if BMY sustains its recent performance, then it’s only a matter of time before it successfully shrinks that gap. I suggest that long-term investors buy the dip.
Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
October 13, 2022
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(A SAFE BET IN A VOLATILE MARKET)
(AMGN), (NVO), (LLY)
The biotechnology and healthcare industry is fraught with risk. However, it’s also brimming with opportunities.
On the one hand, a new drug takes years of clinical research. On top of that, the average cost to bring each product to the market reached $1 billion between 2009 and 2018.
On the other hand, the chosen few that receive the green light from the FDA more often than not deliver on their promise to become blockbusters, raking in sales of over $1 billion every year.
This arguably justifies the risks that come with the industry.
Amgen (AMGN) has become the recent embodiment of this promise. Despite the volatility of the market in the past months, the company remains a strong player thanks to several factors that could bolster its share price.
In particular, Amgen investors are looking forward to potential gains courtesy of the pipeline of drugs slated for market release over the medium term.
The most exciting among them is its obesity drug AMG 133.
The positive data from AMG 133’s unveiling had experts excited over the drug, with many expecting it to become a multi-billion dollar revenue stream for Amgen.
As expected, Amgen will be facing stiff competition in this market, specifically between 2025 and 2030.
To date, investors have been closely monitoring the obesity segment, with two companies clearly leading the charge: Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY).
Novo Nordisk markets Wegovy, which is a shot that targets obesity by zeroing in on the glucagon-like peptide receptor, or GLP-1. This is also the same target for many diabetes treatments.
Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is working to integrate obesity as part of the conditions treated by its recently approved diabetes drug Mounjaro. Like Wegovy, this drug also targets GLP-1.
What makes it more potent is that it also targets glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptides or GIP. Both GLP-1 and GIP are hormones linked to blood sugar control.
What makes AMG 133 different from other approved and experimental treatments for obesity is that it blocks not only a particular hormone but also a specific protein involved in controlling blood sugar.
While it targets GLP-1, Amgen’s candidate works on a gut protein linked to digestion, called the gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor, or GIPR.
The obesity market is a lucrative space since the medical world now categorizes obesity as a type of chronic illness instead of a mere consequence of lifestyle choices.
That is, obesity drugs are on the cusp of entering the mainstream primary health care system.
An apparent precedent for this opportunity is the high blood pressure sector, initially a nascent segment in the 1980s and eventually skyrocketed to a $30 billion industry by the 1990s.
In 2022, the obesity market is estimated to be worth $2.4 billion. By 2030, this space is projected to reach $54 billion.
That places all competitors in the same space, Amgen, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk, in excellent positions. In fact, Novo Nordisk has been dealing with shortages of Wegovy due to rising demand.
While any upgrade or downgrade prompted by a single drug’s potential, or even multiple treatments’ potential, is exciting, it should be taken with a grain of salt.
The biotechnology and healthcare industry is continuously in flux, and any company in the sector is one major failed trial or one rival’s success away from facing trouble. Simply put, they tend to be volatile.
Amgen is not an exception to this harsh truth despite the company’s solid obesity prospects and impressive portfolio and pipeline. That means investors expecting an immediate payout following the recent developments might get disappointed.
Nonetheless, it’s also vital to remember that biotechnology and healthcare stocks tend to deliver better results than the broader market even amid the economic turmoil.
These companies seem to operate and function outside typical economic cycles, providing investors with dependable performance when most businesses are struggling.
Amgen is one of the biggest biotechnology companies in the world. It has been one of the pioneers in this segment since the 1980s. It’s also a part of the prestigious Dow 30 list of companies.
Moreover, it has a massive and diversified product portfolio, with nine treatments that individually generate more than $1 billion in sales annually.
These drugs are not only huge sellers, but also offer wide margins because of the existing restrictive and high barriers to entering the biotech world.
Hence, this enables Amgen to enjoy a remarkable pricing power and autonomy over its products while still growing its top line at a steady pace.
If you’re looking for a conservative and attractive long-term investment, then buying Amgen when the price drops wouldn’t be a bad bet.
Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
September 27, 2022
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(LAST CHANCE AT SALVATION)
(BIIB), (ESALY), (RHHBY), (LLY), (NVS), (AMGN), (REGN), (BMY), (ABBV), (MRK), (PFE)
Biogen (BIIB) is taking another crack at Alzheimer’s. This is a crucial moment for the biotech following its move to abandon its plans to market Aduhelm, another Alzheimer’s treatment after healthcare insurers refused to pay for it despite gaining FDA approval.
The moment of truth will come this fall when Biogen and Eisai (ESALY) are anticipated to share the results of their massive trial created to determine whether lecanemab, their latest candidate for Alzheimer’s, can deliver its promise to decelerate the progression of the neurodegenerative condition in early-stage patients.
Needless to say, an effective Alzheimer’s drug would not only bring incredible development and hope for patients and their loved ones but also offer a much-needed reprieve for Biogen.
Success would push the biotech to pursue a quick turnabout, with Biogen and Eisai already planning to request an accelerated approval. If the Phase 3 data turns out promising, then the next move would be to clear the way to get Medicare coverage, ensuring that the Aduhelm debacle won’t happen again.
In terms of market opportunity, treatments like lecanemab can rake in over $20 billion in sales in the United States alone.
Still, investors remain cautious. After all, betting on a positive result of an Alzheimer’s trial has proven to be a wrong move in the past—a sentiment that’s apparent in Biogen’s beaten-down price these days.
When Aduhelm gained approval in June 2021, Biogen’s shares climbed almost 40%. Unfortunately, the price steadily fell as the biotech encountered roadblock after roadblock since the drug’s approval and commercialization.
Last year, Biogen shares rose from $270 to hit $400 following Aduhelm’s approval. These days, the biotech has been trading at roughly $205. That’s about 40% below its price in 2018.
By April 2022, Biogen threw in the towel when Medicare flat-out rejected any request to pay for Aduhelm.
More than that, though, Biogen’s results for its lecanemab trial could spell the difference for other Alzheimer’s drugs in late-stage development, including the candidates from Roche (RHHBY) and Eli Lilly (LLY).
What would happen if Biogen fails again?
A failure would make the beginning of a new period for the biotech. Looking at Biogen’s pipeline and portfolio, it’s clear that the next move would either be to sell off pieces of the company or become more aggressive in pursuing mergers.
With the primary business unable to deliver, the expectations shift to the pipeline to pick up some slack. Unfortunately, Biogen’s lineup looks underwhelming. Its disastrous Aduhelm project caused too much damage to the biotech’s finances, restricting its clinical trials.
While Biogen remains the biggest pure neurology biotech thus far, this position is under attack, and its pipeline seems too slow to react in the wake of back-to-back failures.
Reviewing Biogen’s pipeline in Phase 3 trials does not show any candidates that stand out as groundbreaking or transformative. None has the capacity to anchor the company anytime soon.
Apart from that, Biogen is facing fierce competition in its other treatments, including its MS portfolio from the likes of Novartis (NVS), Amgen (AMGN), and Regeneron (REGN).
Meanwhile, more and more pharma names are challenging its neurology drugs like Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), AbbVie (ABBV), and Merck (MRK). Even Pfizer (PFE) is making a play in this sector with its plan to acquire neurology biotech pure-play Biohaven.
Given Biogen’s track record, the best thing to do right now is to sit and wait until the data are out. If the data turns out positive, then the opportunity would be massive enough for investors to buy in later.
Besides, Eli Lilly and Roche will also release their results in the following months. Those will offer a clearer path and better flesh out the picture of the future of this segment. Most importantly, these will provide investors with safer options to make their bets.
Global Market Comments
September 23, 2022
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(SEPTEMBER 21 BIWEEKLY STRATEGY WEBINAR Q&A),
(SPY), (INTC), (NVDA), (AMD), (MU) (TBT), (TLT), (AMGN),
(VIX), (CHPT), (TSLA), (GS), (BAC), (MS), (JPM), (USO), (TLT)
Below please find subscribers’ Q&A for the September 21 Mad Hedge Fund Trader Global Strategy Webinar broadcast from Silicon Valley in California.
Q: What would cause you to look for a lower bottom than $330 on the (SPY)?
A: Nuclear war with Russia would certainly do the trick—they’re now threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine—and higher-than-expected interest rates. If we get another 75 basis points after this one today, then I think you’re looking at new lows, but we won’t find that out until November 2. So, the market may just bounce along the bottom here for a while until it sees what the Fed is going to do, not on this rate hike but the next one after that. Other than that, a few dramatically worse earnings from corporations would also allow us to test a lower low.
Q: Is it time to nibble on Nvidia Corporation (NVDA)?
A: Nvidia is one of the most volatile stocks in the market. You don’t want to go into it until you’re absolutely sure the bottom is in. If that means you miss the first 10% of the following move up, that’s fine because when this thing moves, you get a double or triple out of it. I would wait for the indecision in the market to resolve itself before you get too aggressive on the most volatile stocks in the market. The same is true for the rest of the semiconductor sector.
Q: What does a final capitulation look like?
A: The Volatility Index (VIX) ever $40. We’ve had a high of VIX at $37 so far this year. If really get over $40, that would be a new high for the year. That would signal people that are throwing in the towel, giving up the market, selling everything—of course that is always the best time to buy.
Q: How do we get LEAPS guidance?
A: We send our LEAPS recommendations first to our concierge members—we only have a small number of those—and then after that, they go out to all subscribers to the Mad Hedge Global Trading Dispatch. Everyone gets exposure to the LEAPS. By the way, with LEAPS, you can take up to a month to execute a position. What I do is literally buy 1 contract a day, so I get a nice average over the period of a month when the market is most likely bottoming.
Q: Do you see Intel Corporation (INTC) as a good candidate for a Taiwan invasion hedge?
A: Well, first of all, China’s not going to invade Taiwan. I’ve been waiting for this for 70 years and it’s not going to happen. Also, Intel’s new management has yet to prove itself. You have a salesman running the company; I never like companies run by a salesman. I’d prefer to have an engineer run an engineering company. The court is still out on Intel and whether they can turn that company around or not; so, I would much rather buy the market leaders, Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Micron Technology (MU) in the semiconductor space.
Q: You talked dollar/cost averaging before. Should we pause on averaging in?
A: No, that's why I say buy one contract a day and put it in order to buy at the bid side of the market. That way, any sudden swoosh down in the market and you’ll get filled. The spreads on these LEAPS are quite wide, so you want to try to buy as close to the middle or bottom end of the spread, and putting in single contract orders over a month, of course, will do that to you.
Q: Does that mean it’s time to sell the ProShares UltraShort 20+ year Treasury Yield (TBT)?
A: I would say yes; (TBT) hit $30.30 yesterday, which is a new multi-year high. I would be taking profits on that because on the next turnaround in bonds, you could get a very rapid move in (TBT) from $30 back down to $20. I’d rather have you keep that profit than try to squeeze the last dollar out of it. Remember, the (TBT) has a negative cost of carry now of 8% a year and that is a big nut to cover.
Q; Market outlook for mid-2023?
A: We could hit my $4,800 target by mid-2023; that is up 28% from here.
Q: Can we buy LEAPS on Amgen (AMGN)?
A: Absolutely yes, you can. Go for the highest listed strike prices on the call side with the longest possible maturity. I would do the January 17, 2025 $350-$360 vertical bull call spread which you can buy now for $1.00. That gives two years and four months to get a tenfold return. That’s enough time for a full-bore recession to happen and then a recovery where markets take off like a rocket. The call spread you bought for $1.00 becomes worth $10.00.
Q: Is there a long position on the beneficiary of government plans to build EV charging stations?
A: There is, but I'm not recommending EV charging stations because it’s a low value-added business. You buy electric power from the local utility, add 10 cents and resell it. The margins are small, the competition is heating up. There are much smarter ways to play EVs than the charging station. ChargePoint (CHPT) is certainly one of them, but it’s not a great investment idea. Look at how ChargePoint (CHPT) has performed over the last six months compared to Tesla (TSLA) and you see what I mean.
Q: Given the very poor investor sentiment, why don’t we get a testing of the lows and result in a (VIX) pop?
A: Absolutely yes—that is what everybody in the market is waiting for. And it could happen as soon as this afternoon. If it doesn’t happen this afternoon, allow for a little rally and then a meltdown on the next piece of bad news.
Q: I’m not able to get an email response from customer support.
A: Try emailing filomena@madhedgefundtrader.com. If that doesn’t work, you can try calling at (347) 480-1034. Filomena will always be happy to take care of you.
Q: What maturity of US Treasury securities would you buy now?
A: I would buy the 30-year. You’re getting close to a 4% yield on that—that is starting to look attractive to people who don’t want to work for a living picking stocks on a daily basis. We are about to see the rebirth of bond investing.
Q: What about banks?
A: Banks will be a screaming buy and a three-year double once recession fears end, which could be in a couple of months. We now have sharply rising interest rates, which banks love, but the bear market in stocks has killed off the IPO business, credit risk is rising, and of course, the Bitcoin business has gone to zero also. So, I would wait for fears of credit quality to end, and then you’ll get a double in the banks very quickly, and notice how they’re all flatlining at a bottom, they’re not actually going down anymore.
Q: Which banks are good choices?
A: Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of America (BAC) are two great ones, along with Morgan Stanley (MS) and JP Morgan (JPM).
Q: Do you think the market will bottom by the midterms?
A: I do, I think we will bottom a few weeks before the midterms, or the day after. Sometimes that’s the way it goes, and then it will be off like a rocket for the rest of the year. If we can do this from a much lower level in the SPYs, so much the better. Remember, the next Fed meeting is six days before the election. Yikes!
Q: If OPEC cuts production (USO), won’t the supply/demand cause oil prices to start rising again, increasing inflation and people’s prices at the pump?
A: Yes, but OPEC needs the money. Not necessarily Saudi Arabia, but all the other members of OPEC are starved for cash, and that is always how these shortages end. The smaller members cheat on quotas and bust the price. That's clearly what’s driven us down $50 since the February high, small member cheating. And that will continue. It is a cartel with some serious internal conflicts that will never resolve.
Q: Does it cost $17,000 to mine a Bitcoin?
A: It did four months ago. My guess is it’s more expensive now because of the higher cost of electricity around the world. We may even be up to $20,000 cost, which is why it tends to hang around the $20,000 level on the low side. Below that, miners lose money and the supply dries up, just like you see in the gold market.
Q: Do you have an opinion on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)?
A: Yes; credit risk is rising, as are the yields. In a real estate recession, you start to get more defaults on REITS, but the yields on them are very high; so if you are going to play, buy a basket to spread your risk.
Q: Would you buy ProShares UltraShort 20+ year Treasury Yield (TLT) calls spreads now?
A: Yes, but I would go farther in the money, like the mid $90s, because I don’t think we’ll get that low in this cycle. I would also go out another month; instead of a one-month call spread in the mid $90s, I would do a two-month maturity. You could probably take in about $2,000 on a $10,000 position in the mid $90s.
To watch a replay of this webinar with all the charts, bells, whistles, and classic rock music, just log in to www.madhedgefundtrader.com, go to MY ACCOUNT, click on GLOBAL TRADING DISPATCH, then WEBINARS, and all the webinars from the last 12 years are there in all their glory.
Good Luck and Stay Healthy,
John Thomas
CEO & Publisher
The Diary of a Mad Hedge Fund Trader
Back at Lake Tahoe