A Healthcare Pick That's Moderately Shielded From Upheaval
Debbie Wang: With the high-profile failure of the Republican party to push through any healthcare changes, we actually think the probability of having anything change on that front is fairly limited given that there are some irreconcilable elements within the party itself.
So, as a result, we think that there are some opportunities for investors, especially in the areas of healthcare that are moderately shielded from healthcare reform changes. That would include the pharmaceutical companies and the biotech companies that make the therapeutics.
In particular, Allergan is one of our top picks right now. This is a company that has a strong franchise in the aesthetics market, which tends to be cash-pay and is not touched by reimbursement. It also has a really strong pipeline of specialty drugs. Overall, we think that positions the company in a really nice place.
Unfortunately, it has been tarred by a larger backlash against the pharmaceutical companies that specialize in specialty drugs. However, we think this is a little bit of an overreaction by the market. So, as a result, we see Allergan shares as attractively undervalued right now.