Glaxo Wellcome Cut to 'Hold' at Goldman Sachs; Shares Fall
Bloomberg News
September 25, 1998, 4:28 a.m. ET
London, Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman, Sachs & Co. removed
Glaxo Wellcome Plc from its recommended list, effectively cutting
the drugmaker's stock to ''hold'' from ''buy,'' said Goldman
analyst John A. Murphy.
''This is a quality stock, but we would not put fresh funds
into this stock at this level,'' said Murphy. He said the
brokerage recommends French drugmakers Sanofi SA and Rhone-
Poulenc SA as its current picks in European drug stocks.
Glaxo shares fell 101 pence, or 5.6 percent, to 1,697p in
early trading.
Glaxo, the world's No. 2 drugmaker, ''has been a fantastic
performer,'' said Murphy, gaining 65 percent in value since the
beginning of 1997.
Glaxo, which leads the drug industry in sales of AIDS,
asthma and migraine drugs, could face ''difficult'' markets for
some of its newer products, said Murphy.
Drugs that face competitive or market challenges include
Amerge, a migraine drug; Raxar, an antibiotic; its hepatitis B
drug lamivudine; and Zyban, a smoking cessation drug, he said.
''Some of the products are in difficult areas, and given the
outlook for Asia, the growth expectations are going to be
challenging for Glaxo,'' said Murphy.
Glaxo is expected to release positive news about its new
influenza treatment today at a conference in San Diego.
--Dane Hamilton in the London newsroom (44-171) 330-7727/ph |
