Drug Stocks: Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY)

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at TheStreet in a note issued to investors on Monday, Analyst Ratings Network.com reports. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) stock opened at $30.84 in last trading session, and closed at $31.22, trading in the range of $30.61 – $31.28. The stock showed a positive weekly performance of 3.55%.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is stepping up its push into a new class of copycat medicines that offer hope of lower drugs bills for national healthcare systems while threatening rival pharmaceutical companies with a fresh wave of competition. Karl-Ludwig Kley, chief executive of the German group, said that he expected “biosimilars” – cheaper copies of expensive biological drugs – to become an important new market as governments around the world seek to lower healthcare costs. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares closed at $54.77 on last trade day, by gaining 1.86%. Stock 52 week range is $40.83 – $55.20. Company’s market capitalization is $160.29 billion.

Equities research analysts at Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from $60.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, AnalystRatingsNetwork reports. Guggenheim’s price target indicates a potential downside of 33.63% from the stock’s previous close. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock advanced 1.45% and finished the last session at $90.04. The EPS of the stock remained 4.81. Company’s market capitalization is $254.04 billion.

UBS AG started coverage on shares of Sanofi SA (EPA:SAN) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, AmericanBankingNews.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating on the stock. Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) stock opened at $47.84 in last trading session and closed at $48.43. The 52 week range of the stock is $45.45 – $55.94 and the day range was $47.72 – $48.67.