Abbott Laboratories Message Board

Are there any Analysts recommending ABT.? Would appreciate if you/anyone could give us a short brief of those recommendations.

Thanks.

The AG business will be beefed up with a greater emphasis on animal health products. This is a huge market for domestic pets, with no price controls from Uncle Willie(Clinton)!

Thanks for the insight, guys. Am likewise a Long
(at least 5-10 more yrs). Divestiture of
under-performing units makes sense, but the gains/savings from
such should be used for investment in product
development. New product strategy needs to be deeper than
simple acquisition. Here's to quick FDA resolution and
hordes of investors who can't ignore that beckoning P/E!

Yes, that too. And my guess is that White is
probably under considerable pressure to deal with these
problem divisions sooner rather than later. The company
badly needs to come up with some positives to counter
the negatives. It's just a good thing that they made
their 3Q numbers.

are more targeted at the Agra business. It's very costly being in that business and the opportunities are limited.

Yes, I think you're right. For now, White sees no need to "slim down," but I don't think he'll wait forever for the company's underperforming units (such as Ross Labs division) to come around.

look for some re-organization and spin-off's of certain business segments

According to the recent Business Week article on ABT, Miles White's strategy is "a dramatic ramp-up in research spending and a flurry of dealmaking." Let's hope it works.

Assuming that we are all in for the long run, I
am not concerned with the FDA or the class action
suits. (To be honest I do not hold any information on
these two issues beyond the press releases). I see
these issues as the disease of the skin. It may be ugly
for a short period of time but it is curable and it
is not fatal. With the existing acquisitions and
partnerships (they are working even harder to get more
products) there mid-term outlook seems to be promising.
However, I am concerned with the long term outlook. The
lack of any significant in-house discovery
(pharmaceuticals) can be looked as the disease of the heart and
this could be fatal.

Pointer

Very good question. I'll bet there are a lot of long-term ABT holders who would like to know the answer.