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☆ Stock Market Today: Dow, Nasdaq Open Higher; Cisco, Walmart Stocks in Focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Ten-year Treasury yields are up again after settling at their highest level since 2008, an ascent that is raising concern on Wall Street about the potential fallout for stocks. Yields have been driven up mostly by the strength of the U.S. economy, and the prospect of inflation remaining stubbornly high. Stocks were in the red following two days of losses spurred in part by higher yields. The S&P 500 and Dow industrials were modestly lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was off about 0.5%. Ten-year Treasury yields rose above 4.3%, after settling at 4.258% Wednesday.

Persons: Stocks, Dow industrials Organizations: Labor Department, Retail, Walmart, Nasdaq, Hawaiian Electric, Moderna, Global, Japan’s Nikkei Locations: U.S, Maui, Europe, Shanghai

☆ Blue Shield of California taps Amazon, Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs for its pharmacy network
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Bertha Coombs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Blue Shield of California is teaming up with Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company and Amazon Pharmacy — turning away from traditional drug store chains and ditching in part health giant CVS — in a move to save on drug costs for its 4.8 million members. "I expect we're going to — when this ramps up completely — we're going to be saving $500 million a year," said Paul Markovich, CEO of Blue Shield of California. For Cost Plus, which sells drugs at 15% above wholesale prices, California Blue Shield is only the second insurer to sign with the online pharmacy since it launched in January 2022. "I think all payers realize that now that Cost Plus has made the price of medications transparent. The health insurer expects to launch the program for its members in 2025.

Persons: Mark Cuban's, Paul Markovich, Markovich Organizations: Drug Company, Amazon Pharmacy, CVS, Blue, of, Cross Locations: of California, California, Harrisburg , Pennsylvania

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Walmart, Adobe, Cisco, Hawaiian Electric and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading:Walmart — Shares added as much as 1% after the big-box retailer raised its full-year forecast and reported an earnings and revenue beat. Adobe — The software company added about 2% after Bank of America upgraded shares to buy from neutral. Hawaiian Electric — The utility company that oversees Maui Electric sank nearly 18% in premarket trading, continuing its slide over concerns of its potential liability in Maui's wildfires. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported Hawaiian Electric is in talks with firms that specialize in restructuring. VinFast Auto — Shares of the electric vehicle start-up fell nearly 5% in premarket trading as VinFast's stock searches for its level after debuting earlier this week.

Persons: Adobe, Cuban's, Wolfspeed, —, Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Michael Bloom Organizations: Walmart, Refinitv . Revenue, Cisco Systems, postmarket, Refinitiv, Revenue, Adobe, Bank of America, Maui Electric, Wall Street Journal, CVS, California, Drug Company, Amazon Pharmacy, BAE Systems Locations: Williston , Vermont, California

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Walmart, CVS Health, Wolfspeed and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Cisco Systems — Shares of the computer networking giant added 4% after reporting earnings postmarket Wednesday that beat Wall Street's expectations. Adjusted earnings per share for its fiscal fourth quarter came in at $1.14, topping the $1.06 expected from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue was $15.2 billion, compared with the $15.05 billion expected. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.84 a share, ahead of the $1.71 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Wolfspeed — Shares of the semiconductor developer dropped 16% following the company's earnings report after the bell Wednesday.

Persons: Mark Cuban's, Rosenblatt, Ball, Adyen, Wolfspeed, América, MSCI rebalance, —, Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel, Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Michelle Fox Theobald Organizations: Cisco Systems —, Refinitiv, Revenue, Walmart, Refinitiv . Revenue, Street Journal, CVS, Blue, California, CVS Caremark, Amazon Pharmacy, FactSet . Investment, BAE Systems, Nasdaq, VinFast, Citi

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Hasbro, Adobe, GoodRx, SBA Communications and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chevron — Shares rose 1.6% after Goldman Sachs upgraded Chevron to buy from neutral and hiked its price target. Hasbro — The toymaker added 2.9efore the bell after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. United Parcel Service — Shares fell 1% after Credit Suisse downgraded UPS to neutral from outperform, citing labor concerns. Cowen also raised its price target to reflect about 78% potential upside. SBA Communications — Shares fell 1.6% in premarket trading.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs, XPeng, GoodRX, Cowen, It's, —, Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Tanaya Macheel, Samantha Subin Organizations: Chevron, Ford, Disney, Financial, UBS, Hasbro, Bank of America, United Parcel Service, Credit Suisse, CVS, SBA Communications, Semiconductor, FactSet Locations: U.S

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: SoFi, ON Semiconductor, Disney, Sweetgreen and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

SoFi Technologies – Shares of the fintech company popped more than 18% after it reported second-quarter results and lifted its full-year guidance. ON Semiconductor — The chipmaker's shares jumped 3.2% after it posted an earnings and revenue beat for the second quarter. New Relic — Shares jumped 13.4% after a private equity consortium announced it would take the software company private. Sweetgreen — The salad chain's shares jumped 11% Monday after an upgrade from Piper Sandler. Adobe — The software stock jumped 3.9% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to overweight from equal weight.

Persons: FactSet, Disney, Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs, Bob Iger, Spero, Sweetgreen, Piper Sandler, XPeng, Cowen, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Goldman Sachs, Wayfair, Salesforce's, — CNBC's Hakyung Kim, Yun Li, Sarah Min, Tanaya Macheel, Samantha Subin Organizations: SoFi Technologies, Disney, Financial Times, Food and Drug Administration, UBS, Hasbro, of, Bank of America, CVS, Adobe, Chevron, New York Community Bancorp, Deutsche Bank, CSX, RBC Locations: Bob Iger .

☆ Launch of arthritis drug biosimilars ramps up US pressure on pricing 'middlemen'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Seven drugmakers this month launched their own versions, known as biosimilars, of AbbVie's (ABBV.N) flagship arthritis drug Humira, once the world's top-selling prescription medicine. Three have kept their list price within 5%-7% of AbbVie's, two priced at an 85% discount and two have offered both types of prices. For insured patients who are often on the hook for co-pays of 10% to 25% of the list price, the savings have been minimal. Reuters GraphicsThe Biden administration has made lowering drug prices a priority. Amgen offered 5% and 55% discounts to AbbVie's $6,922 per month Humira price tag, and both were included on drug coverage lists at two large PBMs.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Humira, Ameet Sarpatwari, Biden, PBMs, Cigna, UnitedHealth, Amgen, Robin Feldman, Ron Wyden, Wyden, Chuck Grassley, Grassley, Patrick Wingrove, Moira Warburton, Josephine Walker, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Association for Accessible Medicines, Harvard Medical School, Reuters, Lawmakers, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, CVS, Biosimilars, Healthcare, Novartis, Sandoz, Reuters Graphics Reuters, University California College of the, Democratic, Republican, Thomson Locations: U.S, Humira, San Francisco, New York, Washington

☆ CVS Caremark Delays Block Customers From Their Prescriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/cvs-caremark-delays-block-customers-from-their-prescriptions-f36ff60

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ US FTC expands probe into pharmacy benefit managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it had sought information from two privately held companies that negotiate drug rebates on behalf of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) as part of its probe into how PBMs affect pricing of prescription drugs. The two companies, Zinc Health Services and Ascent Health Services, are group purchasing organizations, that negotiate after-market discounts or rebates with drug manufacturers on behalf of PBMs and hold the contracts that govern those rebates. Zinc Health negotiates rebates for CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) and Ascent Health for Cigna Group's (CI.N) Express Scripts unit and Prime Therapeutics, which is a privately held PBM, the FTC said on Wednesday. PBMs act as middlemen and negotiate rebates and fees with drug manufacturers, create lists of medications that are covered by insurance, and reimburse pharmacies for patients' prescriptions. Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CVS beats on earnings and revenue but lowers profit outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health on Wednesday reported first-quarter results that beat earnings and revenue expectations, but the company lowered its full-year profit guidance due to costs related to recent acquisitions. CVS reported total revenue of $85.28 billion, an 11% increase over the $76.83 billion a year earlier. CVS' health services segment booked revenue of $44.59 billion, a 12.6% increase over sales of $39.62 billion in the same quarter last year. CVS' health insurance segment generated revenue of $25.88 billion, a 12% increase from the year before. And CVS' retail segment booked revenues of $27.92 billion, and increase of 7.8% compared to sales of $25.89 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

☆ Future-Proofing the Board of Directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +29 min

Governance structures and practices should position the board to provide objective judgment and active oversight supported by board leadership, which is separate from and independent of company management. The board should design governance structures and practices that support it in determining board priorities, agendas, and information needs. The board should create governance structures and practices that ensure that directors are competent, committed, and diverse and that board and committee composition align with the company’s changing needs. Developing and supporting a positive and ethical corporate culture (see Corporate and Board Culture below). Corporate and Board CultureA strong board and corporate culture is imperative for a company’s success.

[1/2] Sanofi logo at the company's headquarters during the annual results news conference in Paris, France, February 4, 2022. Sanofi in 2009 acquired the rights to Auvi-Q, an epinephrine auto-injector intended to compete with EpiPen. Injection of epinephrine is used to treat serious and sometimes life-threatening allergic reactions to foods, medications, bee stings and other causes. Circuit Court of Appeals last July agreed, noting that the exclusive contracts in question were "a normal competitive tool within the epinephrine auto-injector industry." The 10th Circuit added that Sanofi could have competed on those terms, but instead chose initially to market Auvi-Q as a more expensive, premium product.

☆ Drug-Prices Investigation Focused on Middlemen Opens in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

House Republicans have launched an investigation into the companies that manage drug benefits, dialing up the scrutiny of the middlemen who play an important role in how much medicines cost. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee said Wednesday that it has sent letters to CVS Health Corp.’s CVS Caremark, Cigna Group ’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s OptumRx—the largest pharmacy-benefit managers—seeking documents about the drug-price rebates they negotiate and fees they charge.

☆ Congress Investigates How Pharma Middlemen Affect Drug Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ McDonald’s Ruling Shifts Oversight Liability Focus to Corporate Officers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Photo: McDonald’sThe ruling by Vice Chancellor Laster focuses on the claims against Mr. Fairhurst specifically. At the time of his termination, Mr. Fairhurst had been the subject of multiple reports of sexual harassment during his tenure, according to the Delaware ruling. Emerging oversight liabilityThe legal doctrine driving the McDonald’s shareholder lawsuit extends back to a 1996 Delaware Court of Chancery decision. The ultimate impact of Judge Laster’s ruling vis-à-vis McDonald’s shareholders is as of yet unclear. If the judge approves the McDonald’s directors’ motion to dismiss, the claims against Mr. Fairhurst would be moot.

☆ CVS names new pharmacy services, consumer product chiefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Monday that David Joyner would return to head the U.S. diversified healthcare company's pharmacy services and tapped former Cigna Corp (CI.N) executive Amy Bricker as its chief product officer for consumer business. Joyner will become the chief of the pharmacy services segment, which also includes the company's pharmacy benefits management business Caremark, effective Jan. 30. Bricker will start in the newly created role in February after serving as president of Express Scripts, rival Cigna Corp's pharmacy benefits unit. Its largest health insurance plan for Medicare recipients received a lower performance rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in October. The lower rating could affect payments from the government for 2024, the company said.

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, targets Eli Lilly and Co , Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVOb.CO) and Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), which together make more than 90% of the insulin drugs sold globally. Insulin drugs are used to control blood sugar in patients with diabetes. Eli Lilly and Sanofi both previously announced that they would cap the cost of a 30-day supply of insulin at $35 for uninsured patients. California said that the companies' dominance in the market has allowed them to hike insulin prices at patients' expense, violating the state's Unfair Competition Law. Prices of top-selling insulin drugs have soared in recent years.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company negotiates directly with drugmakers. So far, that's been the strategy for the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. In October, Cost Plus Drug Company announced a partnership with Capital Blue Cross. Cuban said he wanted Cost Plus Drug Company to be as transparent as possible on pricing. Cost Plus Drug Company is considering a test program for insulin that would offer a 90-day supply of insulin, or a total of 12 vials, for $170.

☆ CVS Health raises outlook as third quarter results beat estimates
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health reported third quarter earnings Wednesday morning that beat Wall Street's expectations. CVS' Health Care Benefits segment grew nearly 10% compared to the same quarter last year, driven in part by an increase in its medical memberships from 2021. CVS encompasses a large swath of health care services, including its prescription and over-the-counter medicine sales, its MinuteClinic patient care services and its pharmacy benefits manager, CVS Caremark. The retailer has signaled a renewed focus on health care this quarter, announcing its purchase of Signify, an at-home health care company, for $8 billion in September. The move mirrors Amazon and Walgreens own expansions further into health care services.

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