Why I'll Continue Holding Shares Of Coca-Cola Co

Shareholders of The Coca-Cola Co have had a rough couple years watching rising compensation packages for officers, while sales remain stagnant. I took a recent look and what I see is concerning, but I'm not about to let go yet.
Here's an excerpt from an article published on Seeking Alpha. You can read it here, and the rest of my recent articles at Seeking Alpha here.

With a 52 year track record of annual increases, the current dividend yield at The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) should be as safe as houses. Of course, to a dividend growth investor, holding steady isn't nearly as important as steady increases.
From year-end 2009 through year-end 2014 - five years - the company's dividend has risen at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.27%. Applying fellow Seeking Alpha contributor Chowder's rule, the sum of its current dividend yield of 2.84% and its five-year CAGR is just below the magic number of 12. I feel a Chowder score of 11.11 isn't necessarily a DGI dealbreaker when applied to a first rate company like Coke. However, the company's gloomy outlook is troubling.

Read the complete article at Seeking Alpha, here.

Seattle Genetics Is Offering Growth, For A Price

Recently I began coverage of Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ:SGEN) with the expectation it will outperform the broad market. The company's share price took a hit following positive data presented at a recent conference. I expect label expansion opportunities for the company's commercial stage asset, Adcetris to drive growth in the near term. Looking further ahead the company has several promising candidates in early-stage development, and a slew of collaboration agreements.

Seattle Genetics has the industry's leading antibody drug conjugate platform. This technology improves patient outcomes through the targeted delivery cytotoxic agents to the interior of tumor cells. Because the company's ADC technology is so widely applicable, industry heavyweights have beaten a path to the company's door. As the company transitions to the next phase of its growth story, it should enjoy a significant stream of milestone and royalty revenues from an enviable number of partnerships with industry giants.

Read the complete post at Seeking Alpha, here's the link.

Aspire Data A Big Plus For Amgen And Celgene

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) released data from a planned interim analysis of the Aspire study that could lead to a significant sales boost. The late-stage multiple myeloma trial blew the doors off its primary endpoint of progression-free survival, or PFS. Patients receiving Kyprolis in combination with Celgene's (NASDAQ:CELG) Revlimid and low-dose dexamethasone -- abbreviated KRd -- reached a median 26.3 months without their disease worsening. That's 8.7 months longer than patients receiving Revlimid and dexamethasone without Kyprolis. Despite the fantastic results, the trial will continue as the positive trend toward overall survival hasn't reached statistical significance.

Fulfilling expectations
This is great news for Amgen as it jostles for a spot in the blossoming oncology space. It picked up the proteasome inhibitor just under a year ago, along with the rest of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, for about...

Read the rest at Seeking Alpha.

SA: Momenta Pharmaceuticals Heading For A Repeat

While most promising young biotechs devote all resources to development of new drugs, Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MNTA) is adopting a fairly unusual strategy of aiming for the middle. Its plan for developing biosimilars -- generic versions of complex biologics -- yielded short lived success in the past, and another winner is likely on the way.

Unlike small molecule generics, biosimilars have a much higher barrier to entry, offering jucier margins in return. Deep-pocketed partners Baxter (NYSE:BAX) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) are eager to exploit Momenta's proprietary platform, as it may offer significant savings on development costs. If those savings don't materialize, Momenta could find itself in trouble.

Read the rest of the post here.

Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc's Anticoagulant Gamechangers

Read the full article at The Motley Fool, here.

In a few years, Portola Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PTLA  ) might be selling a leading thrombosis prophylactic, as well as a much needed antidote for the medication. In an effort to bring its antidote to the market quickly, the company may also benefit Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY  ) ,Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) , Bayer AG, and Johnson & Johnson. Lets take a look at the company's experimental drugs and see how this scenario could play out.

A simpler anticoagulant
Portola Pharmaceuticals may soon turn the world of blood thinners on its head. Less than a year after its IPO, the company has an oral once-daily inhibitor of Factor Xa, named betrixaban, in a pivotal Phase 3 trial for the prevention of blood clots known as venous thromboembolisms (VBTs).

After various types of surgery, patients are typically given enoxaparin as an injection in a hospital setting. The drug itself is safe, but keeping it at an effective level in the bloodstream is difficult. Due to this difficulty, the therapy is typically stopped when they're sent home. Far too often, patients then develop blood clots that pose serious health risks and require rehospitalization.

Betrixaban is a pill that can be taken once daily to continue prevention of VBTs without extensive monitoring. So far, it appears to maintain effective levels in the bloodstream without going overboard. Payers often penalize hospitals if patients are rehospitalized shortly after their discharge. If approved, betrixaban is likely to be very widely prescribed, saving health care providers a bundle.

Inhibition on... inhibition off
Trying to prevent blood clots can create as many problems as it solves. Patients are often treated with Factor Xa inhibitors, like betrixaban, suffer uncontrolled bleeding episodes or require emergency surgery. In either case, the ability to switch off the inhibition of clotting factors can save a life. Unfortunately, physicians do not have an effective switch, but Portola is developing the first.

Portola's most groundbreaking candidate is andexanet alfa, a recombinant protein designed to reverse the anticoagulant activity of Factor Xa inhibitors. Last May, this therapy became the first to...

You can finish this article, here, or check out the latest 50 posts at The Motley Fool from Cory Renauer.

How Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. Is Partnering to Success

Read the full article at The Motley Fool, here.

Several years ago, Sangamo BioSciences (NASDAQ:SGMO  ) made a big splash when it began clinical testing for its novel HIV therapy. Results so far have been promising, but this therapy is still in mid-stage development. Luckily, Sangamo's proprietary discovery platform has since attracted attention and licensing deals from the likes of Shire(NASDAQ: SHPG  ) and more recently Biogen Idec(NASDAQ: BIIB  ) . Lets take a closer look at these partnerships and see if they can eventually allow Sangamo to advance its own pipeline.

Curing chronic blood disorders
When it comes to outcome-based medicine, Sangamo has a platform that should have a large market opportunity. The company owns a gene-editing technology based on zinc-finger proteins (ZFPs.) The fingertips can be engineered to bind a specific sequence of DNA. The company insists that it can permanently switch the expression of any gene on or off.

The whole idea sounds a little too good to be true, but innovative powerhouse Biogen has been convinced to the tune of a $20 million upfront payment. The companies recently announced a partnership to develop beta-thalassemia and sickle cell therapies. The basic terms of the deal leave Sangamo responsible for research and development activities until it can be proved to work in humans. Biogen Idec would take the reigns at that point, providing Sangamo with milestone payments up to $300 million and...

You can finish this article, here, or read the latest 50 posts at The Motley Fool from Cory Renauer.

What to Look for When Pfizer Inc. Reports Earnings

Read the full article at The Motley Fool, here.

Pfizer's  (NYSE: PFE  )  earnings call is coming up on Tuesday, January 28, just after the market opens. Losses from generic competition, an ongoing organizational overhaul, and string of recent downgrades will make this one of the most listened to calls of the season. With this much attention, there is likely to be a great deal of noise immediately following the call, but here are a a few critical points to help you focus on the essentials.

Unloading generics
Halfway through last year, Pfizer discussed the separation of its commercial operations into three distinct units. Two units for patent protected brands and one for generics. According to Reuters, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX  ) , Mylan Inc (NASDAQ: MYL  ) , andActavis (NYSE: ACT  ) , are all interested, but there's a small problem -- they probably can't afford it.

VRX Free Cash Flow (TTM) data by YCharts

Pfizer's generics operations are contained within its Established Products and Emerging Markets reporting segment. It hauled in about $14.5 billion during the first nine months of 2013. The odds of any one of the above companies raising enough cash to make an outright purchase are slim. Also, the sale of smaller pieces to interested parties would probably incur enough taxes to erode the sales' profitability.

The company could avoid the tax charges if...

You can finish this article here, or check out the latest 50 posts at The Motley Fool from Cory Renauer.