Investment Q&A

Q: Why is CVS down after their earnings beat ?

Q: thoughts of this lower volatility, more defensive us holdings?

Q: hello 5i:
given that US Health Care is not your specialty, and given that the 3 companies occupy different sectors in health care, could you give me your pick as to which of the three you like best using safety first, and growth second as criteria (I do realize that growth and safety create a conundrum of sorts).
thanks
Paul L

Q: Could you comment on the prospects for CVS and whether it would be one of your picks for exposure to US healthcare.

Q: in the last week market call 2 senior managers who had CVS as top pick see it lose value stuck by it as top picks with conviction. I don't own any pharma other than Pfizer and like to buy a half position.know itsU.S but guess you will have an opinion

Q: Would you know why CVS has had such a drop the last couple of days?

thanks

Q: Hi all,

Comments please on the latest results and outlook?

Thanks for the great service!

Q: Greetings,
Looking at stepping into CVS as a short term ( 3 month max) trade. With some of the volatility in the stock it would seem undervalued and has demonstrated an ability to adjust to their market conditions over the long haul. Your thoughts?

Q: About a year about, I purchased CVS as a hedge against a downturn in the US health care. Since then CVS price dropped nearly 20 since then....first attributed to Amazon purchasing a grocer retailer, then recovered somewhat but then declined because of the news of three large parties, including Amazon planning to get into the health care sector to reduce costs to consumers. Seems CVS is out of favour...and could be so for sometime. Question - do I hold or do I let it go and focus on another US stock and what names would you suggest?

Q: I hold CVS in my wifes RRSP account for US$ exposure. Would you suggest AET might be a better choice? Or some other alternative to get US exposure in the healthcare field?

Q: Hello, what are your thoughts on the news regarding a bid for Aetna? Stock is down quite a bit over the past year. I had initially had a 5% weighting, thinking about buying more on the price weakness, Thank you!

Q: The future of Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) remains unclear to me even after I worked my way through financials, analysts’ comments, analytics and commentaries in the more serious financial journals. CVS and ESRX appear to have been hit hard this year by the mere possibility being whispered ---- that Amazon might enter the pharmacy markets. Amazon might well do that just as they might start their own delivery service to compete with FedEx and UPS.

But surely even mighty Amazon cannot drink ALL the water in ALL the oceans.... or can they? The latter might well be confirmation bias in my reptilian brain.

I had largish positions in CVS and in ESRX. Whereas I had previously decided to ride things out, I have now trimmed at largish losses. I have reviewed past questions here on both CVS and ESRX, including my own past questions.
1. Do you care to update your answers in view of the seemingly unstoppable powerhouse that is Amazon?
2. What would you suggest a risk-tolerant (but not completely imprudent) investor do on each of CVS and ESRX?
3. Sell all and hide under the bed? Buy AMZN with the proceeds? Just PRAY?
4. I spent many hours ploughing through detailed reports on each of CVS and ESRX. Yet I am just as undecided after these reviews as I was before. Almost all analyses that I read say that both CVS and ESRX are under valued; that each is either a buy or a strong buy. I grant that the latter could have been confirmation bias in my reptilian brain.
5. What are YOUR insightful thoughts on the PBM business model in view of (a) possible Amazon threat (with reasons if you would please)
6. Since US Gov policy changes would make significant impact on all PBMs, although you might prefer not to incorporate the current instability in US politics into your own equations, I think in this case, please if you can make an exception and incorporate the political landscape into your comments, that would be very helpful.
7. I would be thankful for your substantive response on each of CVS and ESRX separately as their businesses have significant differences.

Q: I have small positions in both wba and cvs. Should I unload them here? Thanks.

Q: I am looking at adding healthcare to my portfolio; I just purchased GUD but also looking to add a US healthcare stock. Would like to get your opinion on which is best to add mainly for income.

Q: I currently hold CVS and am down 21%. In a response today to a question about WBA, you indicate that a switch from WBA to HD would be okay given the structural change being brought about by AMZN on the purchase of Whole Foods. While the person asking the question had a good gain on WBA, would your response be the same for my position in CVS?......thanks....Tom

Q: Hi 5iResearch Team,

I have a full position on CVS for just over a year the stock has not been doing great over this period of time. I understand from a piece on BNN that Amazon is looking at getting into the pharmacy business.

If indeed that comes to past, I imagine it would impact negatively on pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreen, etc. So I am contemplating of liquidating my position on CVS. Your comments and thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Harry

Q: RE: Health care exposure

Hello, I need to add into the healthcare sector to have proper portfolio diversification.

I sold my CRX shares a while back, and today I am looking buying some CVS and MCK shares.

I might buy GUD in the future but right now I want to buy bigger cap companies.

May I have your opinion on these two companies for LONG term BUY and HOLD strategy?

Thank you very much and have a GREAT day!

Stephane

Q: for a RRSP account, sector issues aside. I am asking for guidance regarding Exxon and CVS

My investor personality is buying blue chip dividend paying companies at a fair price;
A. present yield relative to historical yield
B. present P/E ratio relative to the companies historical P/E ratio
C. company I basically understand (this is not my day job.) i.e. how they make profit doesn't seem to be going into extinction
D. company I don't expect to go away anytime soon.
E. company with expectation of growth

do either Exxon or CVS fit my investor personality ?
if so which would you think is "better" value today relative to future growth potential ?
or would you recommend something else ??

thanks

Ernie

Q: Hello 5i,
I don't have much healthcare exposure right now but I'm thinking about getting back in. I noticed the resent many reasonably priced options in Canada - CRH and GUD seem like the go to names but each have massive P/E ratios.
As a result, I was thinking about buying a US retail pharma stock like CVS or just buying the XLV instead. I like CVS as it is kinda like "owning the race track instead of the the race car". Am I hitting the mark with this analogy or am I missing something? Some Bio tech names appear quite cheap due to pricing/political risk etc. But I also would never know which one to buy. Do you see any issues with the CVS in general? Would you recommend just buying the XLV instead? Thanks

Q: THIS SEEMS LIKE A SOLID BLUE CHIP U.S. COMPANY WITH A DECENT DIVIDEND AT A GOOD PRICE. YOUR THOUGHTS ON TRUMP AND OR AMAZON HURTING IT IN THE FUTURE. THANKYOU