American markets were back on the plus side on this first day of December — a fairly quiet day that was only really tempered by the November ISM Manufacturing PMI reading.
A reading of 48.6 indicated a contraction for the month, and was well below the 50.5 expected by economists. It was the first time the PMI had fallen below 50 since November 2012, and was the worst reading since June 2009. Investors were naturally speculating about any effect it might have on the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates.
By the closing bell, the S&P 500 finished 1.1% higher, followed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 1% in the black, and the Nasdaq up 0.9%. Healthcare led the way, so it should come as no surprise that Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) and Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) were among Tuesday’s best stocks. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) rounded out our daily list.
Here’s why:
Eli Lilly and Co (LLY)
Eli Lilly stock was a big winner today after receiving an upgrade from Barclays analyst Geoff Meacham, who elevated LLY shares from “equal weight” to “overweight,” and hiked the price target from $75 to $95. Meacham also upgraded the stocks of rival companies Merck & Co, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), saying that there was optimism for all of the drug pipelines these companies have, as well as attractive valuations.
Since the beginning of 2014, LLY stock has enjoyed a classic uptrend, rising from below $50 a share to the current price of $86.48 a share.
Eli Lilly finished more than 5% higher on Tuesday.
Mylan NV (MYL)
Eli Lilly was not the only drug maker doing well today. Mylan stock was up more than 3% following its announcement that MYL expects to be able to launch a new drug, TLE400 — containing Tenofovir Disoproxyl Fumarate — in new markets for only $99 annually per patient.
The announcement was made as a part of World AIDS Day, but is contingent upon Mylan receiving U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Mylan is slated to file a new drug application with the FDA for TLE400 in the first quarter of 2016.
TLE400 is an alternative treatment for patients who have shown intolerance to common treatments.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE)
Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock were also rising today following the announcement of an expanded cloud-computing deal with tech giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) for a cloud-computing alliance. HPE gained nearly 5%.
Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft Azure will be the preferred platform for HPE customers, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise will be the preferred partner for the hybrid cloud services offered by MSFT.
HPE stock is a recent spinoff of HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ). It is currently trading just a few percent above its spinoff price around $15.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
