Generic drug giant Actavis agreed to buy Forest Laboratories for $25 billion in cash and stock Tuesday, making for the biggest deal yet in specialty pharma’s recent consolidation boom. Both stocks jumped on the news. Actavis (ACT) said the combined firm will have about $15 billion in annual sales, rivaling big pharma Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY). Sales will be roughly split between branded and generic drugs. Actavis will pay $26.04
Earnings ultimately are the main driver of the stock market and individual stocks. Companies with rising profit estimates are apt to show big share appreciation, because it means that Wall Street sees stronger growth prospects. Facebook (FB), after its blowout Q4 earnings report, is atop IBD’s Leaders With Rising Estimates Screen of the Day . Biogen Idec (BIIB), Qihoo 360 Technology (QIHU), NQ Mobile (NQ) and Actavis (ACT) round out five top stocks
Biotech advances, new investments and merger activity have helped lift drugmakers like Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN), Celgene (CELG) and Biogen Idec (BIIB) past the rest of the market, which has seen some ups and downs recently. Those companies as well as Perrigo (PRGO) and Actavis (ACT) are all on IBD’s Big Cap Screen of the Day, which features large stocks with strong earnings and price performance. Several also appear in IBD’s Leaderboard, a