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Stock Watch: All Bayer’s Roads Lead To Unpalatable

After A Spate Of Disasters, Few Good Options Remain

 
• By Andy Smith

Investors reacted quite differently to Bayer’s first-quarter results and those of its licensing partner Regeneron. There are sound reasons for this. It seems unlikely that one will help the other.

Stock Watch Image, Andy Smith
ANDY SMITH OFFERS A LIFE SCIENCE INVESTOR'S PERSPECTIVE ON BIOPHARMA BUSINESS

When the European conglomerate Bayer AGreported its first-quarter 2024 results, it summarized its performance with “as expected.” Investors on the other hand, who are probably still seething from their dividends being slashed to the legally allowed token, were not as relaxed and Bayer’s stock price closed down by about 1% compared to the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index’s same day close modestly into positive territory. With group sales that fell by 4% on the first quarter of 2023 but rose by 16% on the fourth quarter of 2023 to miss analysts’ consensus estimates by 2%, Bayer brought first-quarter healthcare earnings season to a close with a whimper. 

In complete contrast to the pure-play pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca PLC and Novo Nordisk A/S earlier in earnings season,...

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