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CVS Health Corp. operated 9,400 retail drugstores at the end of 2023, including over 1,880 locations in Target stores. The total number of locations is approximately 10,000 when we include a leading specialty pharmacy, Long Term Care pharmacies, primary care centers, and Infusion Centers where cancer medicines, for example, are delivered through a needle. The combined company posted 2023 revenue of $358 billion, with $187 billion in Health Services (which includes the pharmacy benefit manager business), $117 billion in Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness (which includes the retail drug stores), and $106 billion in Health Care Benefits. Revenues exceed the total before elimination of transactions between segments, which totaled approximately $52 billion. Aetna was acquired at the end of 2018. CVS operated more than 1,100 Minute Clinics, primarily within CVS pharmacy stores. The corporate headquarters is in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Perrigo, founded in 1887, is a leading manufacturer of generic over-the-counter healthcare products and supplier of infant formulas for the store-brand market. Perrigo's private-label consumer products encompass a variety of cold/allergy, gastrointestinal, first aid, motion sickness, vitamin, smoking cessation, and other remedies. The company has a market cap of approximately $4 billion after divesting its RX pharmaceutical business in 2021. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Perrigo has over 9,100 employees. The shares are a component of the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index.

It's happening again. The stock market is bending but not breaking. After a weak opening on Monday, stocks started recovering around noon as bond yields subsided. While the S&P 500 (SPX) was able to finish flat, the Nasdaq dropped 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) fell 0.3%, and the Information Technology sector gave back 0.7%. Unfortunately, after the 10-year yield dropped from 4.8% to 4.77% midday, yields went right back up to the highs for the day. If we look at the stocks in both the SPX and QQQ over the past week, some of the biggest 2024 winners are getting hit the hardest -- with many down from 4% to 16%. We wrote about the market hanging in there until the end of the year as investors wanted to wait until 2025 to sell their big winners and put off paying capital-gains tax. We thought that tax-selling decisions should not be part of a selling rationale. And some indeed are paying the price! Vickers Stock Research, a sister company of Argus Research, publishes the Weekly Insider Report, detailing trends in insider sentiment. Vickers one-week sell/buy ratio for the Nasdaq moved into negative territory last week -- and in a manner that calls for some attention. The ratio is now an eye-popping 15.57 compared to 4.54 the week before, this on a scale where any reading above 6.00 is bearish. That is an ominous result under any circumstances, but we especially hate to see it just as earnings season is starting and insiders will be prohibited from trading for multiple weeks. Indeed, the ratio is not the "final word" we wanted from executives, directors, and beneficial owners just as 4Q results start to hit the tape. Yesterday's big winners must deal with sellers on two fronts. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Nasdaq, we have a problem. Stocks started the year with some difficult sledding -- and the action after the nonfarm payrolls report blew away expectations (suggesting more near-term Fed stimulus may be a fading dream) was particularly awful. Now, insiders have weighed in. And ugh. The one-week sell/buy ratio from Vickers Stock Research for the NYSE has broken into negative territory, at 6.25 on a scale were anything above 6.00 is bearish. Last week, the ratio was 3.38. That's not great, but it is only a single week (so far). But the one-week ratio for the Nasdaq also moved into negative territory since last week - and it is here that we really take notice, as the current ratio is an eye-popping 15.57 compared to 4.54 last week. That is an ominous number under any circumstances, but we especially hate to see it just as earnings season is starting and with insiders mostly prohibited from trading for multiple weeks. Indeed, these ratios are not the 'final word' we wanted from corporate executives, directors, and beneficial owners. On a sector basis, insider buying was the greatest in the Industrials sector over the last week, with shares valued at $3.4 million bought versus $5.9 million sold for a sell/buy ratio of 1.8. The sell/buy ratio was also largely bullish in the Financial sector during the past week, coming in at 1.7 (although the overall value of transactions was lower than in the Industrials sector). Meanwhile, selling was the greatest in Information Technology over the last week, with shares valued at $186 million sold versus no shares bought. See above! This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at CNX Resources Corp. (NYSE: CNX) and Broadcom Inc. (NGS: AVGO).