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Luke Kawa

Pharma stocks under pressure as Trump plans executive order to lower drug prices

The Trump administration is definitely on a low prices kick this morning (or at least, prices-not-as-high-as-they-could’ve-been).

But while most of the market is cheering because the US and China have slashed tariffs on one another, there’s one pocket within stocks that is coming under selling pressure because of a separate push to reduce prices paid by US consumers: healthcare stocks, and pharma companies in particular. This typically defensive sector was probably going to be a laggard in any event amid Monday’s broad risk-on tone, but has an extra headwind to grapple with.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump said he would be instituting a “most favored nations” policy with regard to drug prices, tying the US government’s purchase prices to those paid by other nations, and claimed on Monday that this measure would reduce prices by 59%.

The likes of Novo Nordisk and Johnson & Johnson are down in early trading, but well off their lows of the premarket.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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