ADRs End Slightly Lower; BBVA, British American Tobacco and GlaxoSmithKline Trade Actively
March 20 2019 - 5:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Aisha al-Muslim
International stocks trading in New York closed slightly lower
on Wednesday.
The BNY Mellon index of American depositary receipts was almost
flat, down 0.03% to 143.73. The Asian index fell 0.3% to 166.38.
The Latin American index fell 0.04% to 253.99, and the
emerging-markets index lost 0.1% to 317.10. The European index was
the only gainer, up 0.1% to 133.36.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's (BBVA), British American
Tobacco PLC (BTI) and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) were among those
with ADRs that traded actively.
BBVA's Propel Venture Partners is taking part in a $19 million
funding round of U.S.-based Ease, whose software offers human
resources solutions for small and medium U.S. businesses. The San
Francisco venture capital firm didn't disclose the amount that it
is investing. Ease "will be using the capital boost to increase its
product range and bring in new experience," BBVA said Wednesday.
ADRs of BBVA fell 0.8% to $6.15.
British American Tobacco's financial targets are ahead of
consensus estimates and if the company can deliver, there is
significant upside on its current valuation, UBS analysts say. The
bank says concerns as to whether BAT would be able to grow
next-generation product revenue caused shares to de-rate, but the
analysts argue that the company is likely to hit its 2023-2024
targets. UBS says the financial consequence of meeting these
targets is that the tobacco company is on a clear path to reduce
its debt. As such, the current discount on shares presents a
significant opportunity, UBS says, reiterating its buy
recommendation. ADRs of British American Tobacco rose 1.7% to
$42.20.
Results from a clinical trial of GlaxoSmithKline's cancer drug
dostarlimab are positive and seem to show that it is competitive
with Merck's Keytruda, said Shore Capital, though it cautions that
more research is needed. Based on data from the Garnet study, Shore
Capital says that at the moment dostarlimab looks at least as--if
not more--effective than Keytruda in treating advanced or recurrent
endometrial cancer, but that a cross-trial comparison is difficult
because different evaluation criteria were used in analyzing
Merck's drug. The U.S. bank says it looks forward to seeing
additional data that will make the comparison easier.
GlaxoSmithKline rose 0.9% to $40.81.
Write to Aisha al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2019 17:22 ET (21:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
BBVA Bilbao Vizcaya Arge... (NYSE:BBVA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
BBVA Bilbao Vizcaya Arge... (NYSE:BBVA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024