Category Archives: Stock Market

Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 40,000 for the 1st time

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https://abcnews.go.com/Business/dow-jones-industrial-average-hits-40000-1st-time/story?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=null&id=110305831&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR21RVlVWYPURP6rIsbMoQ88Lg-WSmuPkQmUKA38qmGrUKGWcP4gKavBMGE_aem_AagasyPsstM7TP8VxoIID-mRnwKWZndkgxhoJsAvCA7N-NwDSFxw07L6akmx1NMBofxVVklVrPW_T6QE3fjD7Zb9

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 40,000 for the first time in history on Thursday.

This is a significant and symbolic milestone for the index that tracks 30 of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the U.S.

The Dow is now up about 6% so far this year.

The recent rally in the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq has been fueled by data showing inflation is cooling, which would allow the Federal Reserve to begin its long-awaited interest rate cuts.

Inflation data released on Wednesday showed that price increases slowed slightly from the annual rate recorded in the previous month, ending a surge of inflation that stretches back to the beginning of 2024.

In recent months, the Fed had all but abandoned its previous forecast of three quarter-point rate cuts this year. But the slowdown of price hikes offered hope of rekindling those plans.

“The combination of the Fed likely to be lowering interest rates because inflation is moderating with a resilient economy is a beautiful scenario for a bull market,” Ed Yardeni, the president of market advisory firm Yardeni Research and former chief investment strategist at Deutsche Bank’s U.S. equities division, told ABC News.

“It’s more enjoyable to say the market is going to these nice, round numbers in record-high territory than coming back down to them,” Yardeni added.

The inflation news on Wednesday sent each of the major stock indexes up more than 5% for the day, propelling all of them to record highs. In early trading on Thursday, the Dow had ticked up a quarter of a percentage point.

Observers have also attributed this year’s stock market rally to the rise in value of some major tech firms, driven largely by enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.

Medical Properties Trust selling spree continues, Utah deal closes

Posted on by • Posted in Landlord, Liquidity, Medical Real Estate, Stock Market, Wall Street • Leave a comment
https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/medical-properties-trust-sale-commonspirit-health-utah/713138/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202024-04-15%20Healthcare%20Dive%20%5Bissue:61075%5D&utm_term=Healthcare%20Dive

The deal is expected to generate approximately $1.1 billion in in cash for the liquidity-strapped hospital landlord.

Dive Brief:

  • Medical Properties Trust has sold the majority of its interests in five Utah hospitals for $886 million, the hospital landlord said Friday. The hospitals included in the deal are currently leased to a subsidiary of CommonSpirit Health.
  • The buyer is an unspecified investment firm’s newly formed joint venture. The JV also granted MPT a $190 million non-recourse secured loan — meaning if MPT defaults, the lender cannot collect MPT’s other assets or income. In total, MPT expects the two transactions to generate $1.1 billion in immediate cash, according to the announcement.
  • The sale comes just three days after the landlord sold five hospitals to Prime Healthcare for $350 million.

Dive Insight:

MPT is on a selling spree in order to free up liquidity.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based real estate investment trust has said it’s been heavily exposed during the Dallas-based Steward Health Care’s financial meltdown.

Steward accounted for 19.2% of MPT’s assets as of Dec. 31 and was the largest tenant in its portfolio, according to MPT’s 2023 annual report. The for-profit physician owned network began delaying rent payments to MPT in September, and only paid $16 million of its required $70 million of rent during the fourth quarter. At the same time, MPT was funding multiple rounds of asset-backed loans to Steward, according to the filing.

MPT reported a net loss of $556 million for fiscal year 2023, citing the Steward shortfall as a significant contributor to the results.

The loss of Steward’s rent cushion — coupled with increasing interest rates and $1.3 billion of debt coming due within the next year — motivated the company to pursue several sales early this year, MPT said.

During its fourth quarter earnings call, investors asked whether Steward’s financial instability could play out in the their dividend checks moving forward. 

“The dividend is not dependent on Steward’s rent. It’s more dependent on our ability to close some of these liquidity transactions,” MPT CEO Edward K. Aldag Jr. said. MPT announced its quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share alongside the Utah deal. 

Aldag said the company hoped to sell enough property to shore up at least $2 billion in liquidity. With the Utah deal closed, the CEO said in a release that he is now “confident” MPT will exceed that threshold.

MPT’s stock price was up 20.8% when the markets opened Monday morning, trading at $4.80 per share. 

1 hospital operator among Bloomberg’s ‘Companies to Watch’

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/1-hospital-operator-among-bloombergs-companies-to-watch.html?origin=CFOE&utm_source=CFOE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=2893H2397267F7G

HCA Healthcare is the single hospital operator that Bloomberg identifies as one of “50 Companies to Watch in 2024.” 

“From Alphabet and BYD to Eli Lilly and Vivendi, keep an eye on these global stocks this year,” the outlet proposes for the 50 companies out of the 2,000 firms assessed. Bloomberg analysts highlighted the companies as those warranting a closer look, based on “contrarian views and upcoming catalysts for change such as new leadership, asset sales or acquisitions, and plans for new products and services.” 

With 182 hospitals and more than 37,000 hospital beds, Bloomberg analyst Glen Losev said HCA “faces cost and revenue challenges that point to a reduction in its operating margin. Wages are increasing, especially for nurses, as are non-labor costs because of general inflation. And fewer physician visits indicate softening demand for care in areas such as elective surgeries.”

HCA is tied to an estimated 5% increase to its revenue in 2024 with a market cap of $72 billion. 

The company posted $47.66 billion in revenue for the first nine months of 2023 compared to $44.73 billion in the same period of 2022. Its fourth quarter earnings are due later this month. 

Other healthcare companies recognized by Bloomberg as worth watching are Novo Nordisk, BeiGene, Boston Scientific and Eli Lilly. Weight loss drug possibilities drive potential for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, with estimated revenue increases of 22% and 16%, respectively. 

Bear Market for recent Digital Health IPOs cautions investors

Posted on by • Posted in Bear Market, Digital Health, Inflation, Initial Public Offering (IPO), Innovation, Innovative Care Models, Investments, Recession, Stock Market, Value Proposition • Leave a comment

https://mailchi.mp/e60a8f8b8fee/the-weekly-gist-september-23-2022?e=d1e747d2d8

COVID fueled a record year for digital healthcare venture funding in 2021, which included 85 digital health startups achieving “unicorn” status with $1B+ valuations. But 2022 has been marked by cooling expectations amid inflation concerns and recession fears. 

In the graphic above, we’ve tracked the stock market performances of six recent healthcare IPOs across their opening, peak, and latest months. While not all of them are pure digital health plays, each of these companies promotes its digital solutions or tech-enabled patient platforms as key parts of their value propositions. 

Since going public, each company has lost between 50 and 90 percent of its initial value, more than double the S&P 500’s roughly 20 percent drop from its January 2022 peak to today’s level. The bear market has influenced the venture funding world as well, as H1 2022 fundraising totals for digital health have dropped from last year’s record-setting pace, though they may still surpass 2020 levels by year end. 

After the initial fervor, this market correction among “healthtech” companies is not surprising, and acquisitions—like Amazon’s purchase of One Medical—are likely to continue, as long as these market trends hold. 

The questions every investor should now be asking: does this start-up have a viable path to profitability in the US healthcare market, and does it deliver meaningful value to consumers?