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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Hello. Can you point me in the direction of a few solid health sector, dividend paying stock options that would be suitable to hold within an RRSP? I’m looking at a five to eight year horizon and consider myself as a ‘low to moderate’ risk investor.
PS found recent ‘ How to Pick a Stock in 2018’ very helpful. Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Heather on October 25, 2018
Q: Hi,
What are your thoughts on Merck as an investment, the company’s potential growth and risk? My interest started in Merck because of their immunotherapy drug... Keytruda. Keytruda has eliminated some of my mom’s melanoma tumors and shrinking cancer in two other areas of her body. Other melanoma patients are seeing positive results. Melanoma cannot be treated with chemo. This drug is now being tried on some liver cancers and was initially developed for some types of lung cancer. I really don’t know a lot about this company and would like your opinion.
Thanks,
Kerri
Read Answer Asked by KERRI on July 24, 2018
Q: Hello Folks:
Could you please give me your view on Merck and Company (which along with Smith- Kline) has had problems executing new drugs (eg. lung cancer medications) in their pipelines. I also have previously owned Gilead, whose new HIV drug was reduced in value because of government pricing restrictions. My other health care equities are Johnson and Johnson and Knight Therapeutics. Do you think there are better health industry options (with decent dividends and growth potential) in the U.S. other than companies such as Merck, Gilead etc. or should one look to another sector.
Thanks for everything
brian
Read Answer Asked by Brian on November 30, 2017
Q: Even after incorporating political risks, many health care stocks seem to have been punished more than seems justifiable. On Friday; minutes after the FBI said it is re-opening that email investigation , the health care sector sank even lower. The sudden stock price drop was in near-perfect correlation (McKesson, Novo Nordisk, Gild, CVS, Allergan and others were already down significantly year to date, yet all dropped sharply on the FBI news).

Granted, the damage to bio tech and pharma companies was self-inflicted. No one with a moral compass can dispute the fact that drug pricing abuses did happen (and perhaps still do). At current depressed stock prices, however, does it not now seem that many health care companies are being water-boarded indiscriminately? Is available info so nebulous that even traders or investing professionals don't feel confident. Are the unknown factors significant enough to depress stocks this much, though? Even after the already steep drops year to date? ( Sorry, I don't mean this preamble to turn this into a leading question).

QUESTION: Would you buy any Health Care stocks at current valuations (many show low PEG, high ROE)? This sector has been sliding down since 2015. Specifically, would you add to a position in Amgen or Merck , OR in the alternate, would you rather initiate a new position in a medical equipment maker? If the latter, which one please and why? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Adam on October 31, 2016