Spinoff created 2 quality medical stocks

Article Excerpt

On July 1, 2015, Baxter International handed out 80.5% the shares in its Baxalta subsidiary to its investors on a one-for-one basis. Baxalta makes vaccines and drugs in three main areas: hematology (blood diseases), immunology (immune system) and oncology (cancer). Baxter now focuses on medical devices, such as intravenous pumps and kidney-dialysis equipment, and operating room drugs such as anesthesia. BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC. $39 (New York symbol BAX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 547.0 million; Market cap: $21.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.baxter.com) earned $755 million, or $1.38 a share, in 2015 before unusual items. That’s up 7.5% from $702 million, or $1.28, in 2014. Revenue fell 7.0%, to $10.0 billion from $10.7 billion. However, without the negative impact of currency exchange rates, revenue gained 3%. The company continues to spend about 6% of its revenue on research. That has let it launch several successful new products, including its Sigma…