• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Doug Kass
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing

Pfizer, Other Pharma Stocks Should Continue to Do Well Amid Market Volatility

Pfizer trades with a trailing PE of 15 and is expected to grow earnings 2% in 2019.
By JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE
Nov 19, 2018 | 01:12 PM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: PFE, JNJ, LLY, ABT, AAPL

The major indices continue to see extreme selling pressure. Breadth is running about 1,750 gainers to 5,350 decliners and new 12-month lows are over 300. There is a steady diet of bad news and no immediate technical support until the lows of October are retested. Market leader  ( AAPL) is now leading stocks down rather than up.
 
In the midst of this ugly action there is one sector that is performing well. Pharmaceuticals are viewed as a safe haven because demand for drugs is typically unaffected by the economy. In addition, the group is well known as a safe haven and that makes it self-fulfilling to some extent.
 
Key names in the group are Pfizer ( PFE) , Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ) , Lilly ( LLY) and Abbott ( ABT) .
 
Pfizer trades with a trailing PE of 15 and is expected to grow earnings 2% in 2019. In its most recent quarter it saw EPS growth of 16% and revenue growth of 1%
 
Of this four names, Lilly has had the best growth with an EPS increase of 32% in its most recent quarter and revenue growth of 7%. Lilly also has the best looking chart in the group as it tests resistance at the $115 level and is on the verge of a new closing high.
 
Pfizer has not had the same relative strength, but it is in the middle of a trading range and needs to move over $44.50 to gain momentum to put the recent highs into play.
 
Both Abbott and Johnson & Johnson also have better looking charts than Pfizer as they are hitting highs and seeing superior relative strength.
 
Pharmaceuticals are the group you want to be in when the market struggles. Any of these four will likely do well if the market pressure continues.
 
Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

At the time of publication Rev Shark was long ABT and JNJ.

Jim Cramer and the AAP team hold positions in Apple, Abbott and Johnson & Johnson for their Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio . Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL, ABT and JNJ? Learn more now.

TAGS: Investing | Stock of the Day

More from Investing

When Not Just Any Dividend Stock Will Do

Bob Ciura
May 28, 2022 12:30 PM EDT

These 3 high-yield stocks are also attractive on a total return basis.

Buying Will Get You Nowhere If You Don't Know How to Sell

James "Rev Shark" DePorre
May 28, 2022 10:00 AM EDT

Let's explore the tremendous power of the sell button -- and why it's so emotionally charged.

Move Over Target and Walmart, Costco Gets the Gold Star

Stephen Guilfoyle
May 28, 2022 7:30 AM EDT

I had a bit of money -- and ego -- riding on Costco coming into earnings. It didn't disappoint.

A Rally Driven by Fear (of Missing Out)

James "Rev Shark" DePorre
May 27, 2022 4:28 PM EDT

What's next after this seesaw week? One thing is for sure: More volatility.

Let's Take Nikola for a Spin. And Then Return It

Mark Sebastian
May 27, 2022 2:56 PM EDT

I wouldn't want to own NKLA, but I could see riding it for a few days.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 10:58 AM EDT JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    The tremendous power of the sell button.
  • 02:46 PM EDT STEPHEN GUILFOYLE

    We're Shedding Some of This Holding on Strength

    Check out the Stocks Under $10 portfolio here!
  • 11:33 AM EDT PETER TCHIR

    Thoughts Ahead of the Fed Minutes

    Recent economic and earnings issues are convincing...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2022 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login