The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
I read this evening that The Fool reckons GSK is a good long term buy at this level. Suggests that GSK's performance means the legal costs are manageable.
https://www.fool.co.uk/2022/08/18/should-i-snap-up-gsk-shares-at-14/
Having bought two top ups since the news broke, I guess that makes me a Fool!
Dieselgate compo is the latest show in town. I did have a diesel a while back but no way am I signing up on some unknown shyster's database on the off-chance. I am still getting those sinister phone calls about 'You have recently had an accident..', it was only a cut finger ferchrissake.. It'll grow back.
(No disrespect to any honest legal eagles intended)
It is bizarre how something that was not unknown suddenly got hauled under spotlight at this moment. Almost like it was planned.
" The number of claims made against GSK and others is still relatively low, compared to some other recent high-profile class-action lawsuits against big pharma companies - although that could certainly change if some claimants start to achieve success at court. The first personal injury claim linking Zantac to cancer is set to be heard in a court in Illinois later this month."
That's in the next fortnight.
FT:
“ It’s lunchtime in London and GSK is worth about £5bn less than it was first thing this morning in response to essentially no news...”
And
“All this was already in the public domain even before Haleon’s prospectus dropped six weeks ago, but since it’s on page 292 perhaps investors have only just reached the most interesting bit, which is this:
Whilst Pfizer and GSK have each served CH JVCo [Haleon’s holding company] with notice of potential claims under the relevant indemnification provisions in the Pfizer SAPA in relation to possible liabilities connected with OTC Zantac, it is not possible, at this stage, to meaningfully assess whether the outcome will result in a probable outflow, or to quantify or reliably estimate what liability (if any) that CH JVCo may have to the GSK Group and/or the Pfizer Group under the relevant indemnities. This is due to a number of factors and uncertainties, including [?.?.?.?] the complex factual matrix relating to the third-party tort claims and the implications of the history of ownership of the US OTC Zantac rights [and] the current status of the respective proceedings, which remain at an early stage.”
When Pru spun off MNG, they said much the same: that Pru had shuffled off a burdensome part of the business. 19 March 2020 I got lucky and bought £10k of MNG for 91p a share. Now look at them..
This time I will keep both sides of the split and would perhaps buy more HLN when funds allow.
On my broker valuation(Halifax), my losses on AV. are not pleasant reading. The figures tell me that AV. has lost 22.73% in the last year. People will say that the company has compensated through its rather strange method of returning money to shareholders and that my broker's system is at fault for not allowing for this. As I understand it, the process was a rather panicky method of satisfying a powerful activist investor, Cevian which had built a significant stake in the company and which claimed that AV. had been poorly managed for years.
But then I think, why should my broker build into its system an algorithm that reflects reality as AV. would like it to appear? I just wish now I had sold the lot before they starting messing me about.
Comparing a similar company to AV., Aegon NV, I see that its revenue was 1.62 billion Euros whereas AV. made £248m. Aegon's share price has risen by 15.53%.
It seems the company acknowledged its failure in the annual report for 2021:
"2021 was the year Aviva began to deliver on its promise to become the business that our customers, people and shareholders deserve it to be. In many ways it feels like a new Aviva. Our work to focus the portfolio is now complete and we’re concentrating our efforts where we are best placed for success." George Culmer, Chair.
Nevertheless, since the return of capital AV. shares have continued their disappointing performance, languishing behind the likes of LGEN and MNG and attractive only because of the dividend. Any signs that AV. is 'placed for success' would be welcomed.
Glad I bought more LGEN instead of AV. the other day. I've large stakes in both but I did not like AV. doing that weird buy-back exercise. I just wish I'd sold all my holding before they did it and bought back after as some did. They do some strange things..