Top Retail Stocks To Invest In 2015

Top Retail Stocks To Invest In 2015: Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX)

Express Scripts Holding Company, incorporated in 2011, provides healthcare management and administration services on behalf of its clients, which include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, workers compensation plans, and government health programs. The Company operates in two segments: Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) and Emerging Markets (EM). PBM services include network claims processing, home delivery services, patient care and direct specialty and fertility home delivery to patients, benefit plan design consultation, drug utilization review, formulary management, drug data analysis services, distribution of injectable drugs to patients homes and physicians offices, bio-pharma services, and fulfillment of prescriptions to low-income patients through manufacturer-sponsored patient assistance programs. EM segment provides distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to p roviders and clinics, healthcare account administration and implementation of consumer-directed healthcare solutions. In September 2013, it announced the acquisition of the SmartD Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP).

On July 20, 2011, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) entered into a merger agreement (the Merger Agreement) with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (Medco). During the year ended December 31, 2011, it reorganized its FreedomFP line of business from its EM segment into its PBM segment. On April 2, 2012, the Company completed the Merger Agreement, and after which ESI and Medco became the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. The Company's customers include HMOs, health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, government health programs, office-based oncologists, renal dialysis clinics, ambulatory surgery centers,! primary care physicians, retina specialists and others.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tiernan Ray]

  Gainers today included biotech Celgene (CELG), bouncing back from yesterday’s broad sell-off in the group. Another top gainer in life sciences was AbbVie (ABBV), the Hep-C drug maker that Monday inked a deal with pharmacy manager Express Scripts (ESRX). It rose $1.86, or 3%, to close at $66.21, the third biggest gain.

• [By Chris Dieterich]

  Gilead Sciences (GILD) traded 1% lower before Wednesday’s opening bell, on course to continue a swift two-day slide. The formerly high-flying stock is down 17% this week after rival AbbVie (ABBV) won a deal with Express Scripts (ESRX) to offer its  hepatitis C drug.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Leerink’s David Larsen and Chris Abbott point to the one definite winner in the battle between Gilead Sciences (GILD) and AbbVie (ABBV) for hepatitis-C supremacy: Express Scripts (ESRX). They explain:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  We’ve looked at new Harvoni patient authorization forms from Anthem (Express Scripts (ESRX) is the pharmacy benefit provider) and UnitedHealth (UNH) that just came out… We note they have headline language “approval criteria” that reads and attempts to limit/restrict coverage to only the sicker highest risk F3-4 patients. The forms do support 8-12 weeks of Harvoni therapy. Separately, (2) Senator Bernard Sanders is planning a hearing before year end to examine HCV costs to the Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA=10% max HCV volume) which could add some headline risk to be aware of that reminds us of Waxman…

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-retail-stocks-to-invest-in-2015.html