Bristol-Myers and Quidel to Open Near 52-Week Highs - Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Health care companies Bristol-Myers Squibb

BMY

and Quidel

QDEL

reached new 52-week highs of $32.75 and $17.21 per share, respectively, in Wednesday's trading session.

Bristol-Myers

saw its price target boosted by a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst yesterday on belief that its Yervoy product would drive growth in the coming quarters. Revenue growth is expected from the October 27 report. Products of this New York-based global biopharmaceutical company also include Plavix and Abilify. Founded in 1887, Bristol-Myers now has a market cap of $53.8 billion. The price-to-earnings ratio is higher than the industry average, but so is its operating margin. The return on equity is 20.7% and the dividend yield is 4.0%. Ten of 21 analysts consider it a Buy; none rate it a Sell. The share price is more than 21% higher than six months ago. The stock has outperformed competitors Pfizer

PFE

and Merck

MRK

over that time.

Quidel

recently signed a distribution agreement with Life Technologies

LIFE

and it won the European CE Mark for its new virus test for human metapneumovirus infection. San Diego-based Quidel is a leading diagnostic test solutions provider, marketing its products in the U.S., Europe, Japan and the Middle East. Its market cap is $564.9 million. It was founded in 1979. Earnings per share are anticipated to grow 17.5% over the next five years. EPS for this year are forecast to have swung to a profit while revenues are estimated to be 39.9% higher year over year. Five of ten analysts rate the stock a Strong Buy. The share price is nearly 40% higher than six months ago. Over that time, the stock has outperformed competitor Alere

ALR

Action Items: Bullish:

Traders interested in exchange traded funds holding Bristol-Myers might want to consider the following trades:

PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals PJP: up more than 15% in the past year
iShares Dow Jones US Pharmaceuticals IHE: up more than 8% in the past year
Health Care Select Sector SPDR XLV: up more than 5% in the past year

Bearish:

Or traders might want to consider this alternative position:

ProShares UltraShort Health Care RXD: up more than 21% in the past quarter

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