The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0814 ET - Danaher is signalling a near-term organic slowdown, forecasting soft third-quarter core revenue growth of 2% to 3%. While the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $8.45 to $8.60 a share, the upgrade is primarily driven by the earlier-than-expected closing of its Masimo acquisition rather than underlying business expansion. At the same time, customer project timing is creating headwinds in the higher-margin bioprocessing division, while debt from the deal drives up interest expenses to $107 million from $71 million a year earlier. Still, CEO Rainer Blair says "underlying order trends remained strong and bioprocessing orders grew mid-teens in the quarter." Shares are down over 11% in premarket trading at $178.55. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0402 ET - Novartis's better-than-expected results for the second quarter and reiteration of its full-year guidance mean consensus expectations on the Swiss drugmaker's core earnings have room for upgrades, analysts at J.P. Morgan say in a research note. For the second quarter, the company's core earnings per share of $2.41 beat consensus forecasts by 12%, the analysts say. Novartis still expects core operating profit to fall by a low-single-digit percentage this year. Assuming the benefit of stock buybacks is fully offset by incremental financial expenses, the company's 2026 core EPS would land at $8.89, or 2% above consensus forecasts, according to JPM. The results bode well for Novartis's shares, the analysts say. Shares are up 2.1%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0344 ET - Novartis reaffirmed its full-year guidance after second-quarter results beat expectations, which implies a slow second half, Intron Health's Naresh Chouhan and Dominic Rose say in a research note. The Swiss drugmaker expects this year's sales to grow by a low-single-digit percentage, and core operating profit to decline by a similar amount, when excluding currency changes. This follows declines of 2% for sales and 7% for core operating profit in the first half, the analysts say. Among the company's key products, anti-inflammatory drug Cosentyx, multiple-sclerosis treatment Kesimpta and leukemia medicine Scemblix all beat expectations, the analysts say. Breast-cancer medicine Kisqali and prostate-cancer therapy missed forecasts, they add. Shares rise 1.9%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0326 ET - Novartis's second-quarter sales and core earnings beat expectations partly due to timing effects that will be a drag on its performance this quarter, Jefferies's analysts say in a research note. Quarterly sales at the Swiss drugmaker beat consensus forecasts by 5%, the analysts say. Just over half of the difference was due to strength in established brands that benefited from sales phasing that the company expects to give back in the third quarter, they add. Moreover, core earnings benefited from the timing of expenses tied to the Avidity acquisition, which should become a drag in the third quarter, according to Jefferies. The reversal of both factors leaves Novartis's 2026 guidance unchanged, the analysts say. Shares rise 1.6%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0249 ET - Novartis's second-quarter results were clearly above expectations, but it is surprising that its solid performance didn't trigger a guidance upgrade, Vontobel's Stefan Schneider says in a research note. The Swiss drugmaker reported better-than-expected sales despite a hit from generic competition that was bigger than anticipated, Schneider says. Core operating profit exceeded consensus forecasts by a wider margin, which is surprising given the faster-than-expected generic erosion, he adds. Novartis had guided at the start of the year for a better performance in the second half than in the first, but it left its guidance unchanged despite a good second-quarter result, Vontobel says. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
2021 ET - ResMed's bulls at Canaccord Genuity think its latest acquisition has come at an awkward time for the breath-tech supplier. The broker's analysts say investors were just starting to get excited about ResMed's gross-margin expansion and potential to push earnings leverage, which may be challenged by the acquisition of the Noctrix startup. The analysts do see opportunity in trying to address restless leg syndrome, which is Noctrix's focus, but warn that ResMed shares are struggling for direction ahead of the company's 4Q update. Canaccord Genuity cuts its target price on ResMed's ASX-listed stock by 10% to 40.00 Australian dollars. Shares are down 0.5% at A$28.05. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 21, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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