Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, December 21, 2018

Article Excerpt

PFIZER INC., $41.93, New York symbol PFE, is one of the world’s largest makers of prescription drugs. Its top-selling brands include Lyrica (epilepsy), Celebrex (arthritis pain), Prevnar (pneumonia) and Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis). This week, the company agreed to merge its Consumer Healthcare division, which makes medications such as Advil (pain relief), Centrum (vitamins) and Robitussin (cough syrup), with the consumer business of U.K.-based GlaxoSmithKline plc (New York symbol GSK). Pfizer will own 32% of this new joint venture, which will be the world’s largest seller of over-the-counter drugs with annual sales of $12.7 billion. The company expects to complete the transaction in the second half of 2019. Glaxo, which will own the remaining 68%, intends to either hand out its shares in the new company to its shareholders or sell them through an IPO within five years. Those shares will trade on the London Stock Exchange. When Glaxo decides to spin off the joint venture, Pfizer will then have the option of selling its…