Pfizer (PFE) has been busy lately, but its latest acquisition could add to integration risk.
The company announced early Wednesday that it will acquire the small-molecule anti-infective business from AstraZeneca (AZN) . This follows Monday's announcement that Pfizer plans to acquire Medivation (MDVN) to propel the company into a leading position in oncology.
For the AstraZeneca acquisition, Pfizer will pay Astra $550 million up front and an unconditional $175 million in January 2019. Then, depending on the progress and success of the drugs, it will pay another $850 million plus royalties.
Dividend Stock Advisor's portfolio manager David Peltier said in a note to subscribers Wednesday that the company may need to slow down. "Any additional purchase that management makes will add to its execution risk in the coming quarters," Peltier wrote.
Meanwhile, as we head into back-to-school season, one sports retailer is catching the eye of other portfolio managers. Trifecta Stocks' Chris Versace and Bob Lang say Nike (NKE) is benefiting from "the increasingly bullish outlook for athletic footwear and apparel." Foot Locker (FL) and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) highlighted the bullishness in each of their respective earnings reports last week.
Apparel retailer TJ Maxx (TJX) presents another potential opportunity for gains. Action Alerts PLUS portfolio managers Jim Cramer and Jack Mohr believe the market is discounting management's ability to beat their historically conservative guidance.
"TJX has a history of under-promising and over-delivering, which is also favorable compared to the opposite, and we are willing to wait out the choppiness in the short term for the longer-term upside opportunity, which is driven by TJX's unique ability to drive traffic through its stores despite the current 'Amazon-ian' marketplace that is retail," Cramer and Mohr wrote in a note to subscribers Monday.