Here is the AZ part of the story about George Soros dumping ALL of his AZ stock. Where is Pfizer now with their $120 billion offer…nowhere to be found because of Frenchie! AstraZeneca's turnaround story hinges on a high-risk strategy Like most big pharmas, AstraZeneca has gotten walloped by the ongoing patent cliff. Specifically, the loss of exclusivity on its top-selling acid reflux drug, Nexium, caused revenue to crater by nearly 30% in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago. Making matters worse, its megablockbuster cholesterol drug, Crestor, is set to lose patent protection in the U.S. in 2016. Source: AstraZeneca. Management has thus looked toward the promising field of immuno-oncology to help reverse this trend. To do so, it has built one of the most comprehensive and integrative immunotherapy programs in the business. AstraZeneca's early stage immuno-oncology platform centers on three therapeutic target areas: antigen presentation, T-cell killing, and the tumor's micro-environment. The company is also conducting numerous clinical trials employing a combination of immunotherapies, with the goal of hitting multiple therapeutic targets at once. While AstraZeneca believes it can boost sales by a staggering 70% by 2017, you should bear in mind that a large chunk of this forward-looking revenue estimate is based on immunotherapy products that are still in the early stages of clinical testing. As there is no guarantee they will prove to be effective -- or even safe, for that matter -- AstraZeneca's huge bet on immuno-oncology is a risky proposition to say the least, which is probably why Soros dumped the stock completely in the fourth quarter.
Soros is not worth billions by being stupid. He is betting against the pipeline and Pascal. Pascal's decision to turn down Pfizer, will prove to be one of the worst business decisions in modern history. This is way happens when you let your ego get in the way of good business decision making.
Note that this happened at least 2 months ago. The price of this sale by GS is already in the stock. That stock sale may be why the stock has dropped as much as it did in the recent past. What is more troubling is why did he sell? Was he only there for the Pfizer takeover premium? Or is there something else he sees that will not be good for the AZ stock in the near future. While GS could be wrong, he certainly has access to much more information and professional analysis than most other shareholders could ever dream of getting.
No, he is not worth billions by being stupid. Rather, he is worth billions because he is a puppet for the high society bankers. Too bad you didn't get past chapter one in your study.
He's not stupid. He will be gone by 5/31/15. He let us hold his bag. The game is over, and look for MASSIVE layoffs.
Or GS could simply have identified superior investing opportunities than AZ for his vast amounts of capital. These kinds of investors often have no real long term interest in the underlying companies of the stocks they invest in, other than the likelihood of collecting the dividend and the stock price going up, it just an investment for them.
I sold all of my remaining options and restricted shares at $82.10 and laughed all the way to the bank. AZ could lay me off tomorrow I really don't give a shit any longer. I made my fortune here and wouldn't need to work another day unless I wanted to. Give me a package and I will be a very happy camper.
How do you make the leap from, I did very well at AZ and can leave a rich person, to being insensitive toward others? I hope everyone gets a package from this shit hole company. But if I get one and others don't wouldn't make me a bad person would it? Golly gee Beave, I sure hope not.
Golly Gee, very many employees might just lose their job that was supporting their families, putting their lives into tremendous turmoil and then get very little else to show for it, so yes, gloating about this possibility does in fact make you a bad person.
AZ stock closed at an all time high of $81.09 on one day, May 1st, 2014. It traded as high as 82.68 that day and you were smart enough to sell at almost the exact right moment. Not only are you a liar, but you are a stupid liar. You haven't worked for AZ in years I bet.
You obviously don't understand how to put in a sell order at a limit price with a time limit on the rider. So dumb ass let me educate you. I put in a sell order at $82 to sell all shares if and when AZ stock hit $82. By the time my sell order was processed it actually sold slightly above the $82 price limit. You obviously have never been promoted to a position that would warrant stock options. Now we all know why. Go back to chasing those sample sigs peon.
How is he to blame if you stuck around long after the horse had left the barn. You should have gotten out while you could--now nobody's wants AZ's rejects--especially when the company has a crap reputation and it's obvious that anyone with half a brain would have bailed long ago. I congratulate this happy fellow--why shouldn't he be celebrating?
Boo-hoo, you're breaking my heart! If they had managed their money properly, they wouldn't be in this sad situation.
