So much so, it has gained around 10% since 22 April.

For many investors, that kind of surge would normally signal that it is too late to invest. But is that actually the case? Let's find out.

A strategy built to uncover value

The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF isn't your typical fund. It holds a curated portfolio of US-listed companies that analysts believe possess sustainable competitive advantages (wide economic moats) and are trading at discounts to their fair value.

What sets this ASX ETF apart is that it rebalances regularly, meaning it adjusts its holdings to stay aligned with this strategy. Companies that become too expensive or lose their strategic edge are replaced — keeping the portfolio focused on quality businesses trading at attractive prices.

This process ensures the fund consistently leans into value with discipline, regardless of short-term market momentum.

Still value beneath the surface

Despite the recent rally, many of the MOAT ETF's key holdings are still trading well below their 52-week highs.

This includes names like Nike, Adobe, Merck, Huntington Ingalls, Walt Disney, and Constellation Brands.

For example, Adobe has been expanding into AI and marketing automation but is still working through market scepticism around its valuation. Nike remains a global powerhouse but has been held back by trade tariff concerns. Meanwhile, Huntington Ingalls, a leader in defence and shipbuilding, is quietly benefiting from rising global security spending but its shares have been left behind.

This mix of underappreciated quality names gives this ASX ETF continued upside potential — even after recent gains.

A discount that might not last

It is also worth noting that the MOAT ETF is currently trading at a slight discount to its net asset value (NAV) — around -1.17%, or $1.42 below fair value.

While only small, this discount suggests investors today are paying less than the market value of the underlying companies, offering a margin of safety that's rare after a sharp price move. For long-term investors, this kind of opportunity — strong momentum combined with a valuation buffer — doesn't come around often.

Foolish takeaway

The MOAT ETF's recent 10% surge might look bad on paper for buyers, but dig a little deeper and you'll find a portfolio still full of undervalued, high-quality companies with competitive moats and long-term tailwinds.

In light of this, it may not be too late to buy this popular fund.

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It's been a banner year for the stock market. However, not every stock has been a winner as some sectors performed better than others. Tech and utilities soared, while others like real estate and healthcare underperformed.

So what are the five worst performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) list of blue chip stocks? Let's take a look.

1. Boeing (down 36.5%)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) has had a rough year. It started early as the stock price fell after the door panel on a Boeing jet flown by Alaska Airlines popped off mid-flight. Follow-up investigations revealed a workplace culture where quality controls became overly lax. Boeing brought in a new CEO, but a full-fledged turnaround could take years.

2. Nike (down 27.5%)

Nike (NYSE: NKE) struggled this year as missteps under former CEO John Donahoe (also ousted this year) led to declining sales and profits and market share losses to upstart competitors like On Holding and Deckers' Hoka brand. Nike was also criticized for moving away from brand marketing and wholesale relationships with chains like Foot Locker. It's expected to change strategy under new CEO and company veteran Elliott Hill.

3. Merck (down 8.5%)

Merck (NYSE: MRK) is one of several pharmaceutical stocks that underperformed this year. The company struggled to find growth beyond Keytruda, a cancer drug, as franchises like HPV vaccine Gardasil and diabetes drug Januvia declined due to Gardasil's weakness in China and competition for Januvia. Keytruda now makes up nearly half of its revenue, though the headwinds against other drugs have eaten into profits.

4. Johnson & Johnson (down 6.3%)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is also down this year as it's faced headwinds associated with lawsuits around its talcum-based products, and profits have declined due to legal costs and increased research and development (R&D) expenses.

5. Amgen (down 4.8%)

Like other healthcare stocks, Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) missed out on the cyclical tailwinds that lifted the broad market, and it's faced challenges with MariTide, a weight loss drug that could be linked to bone mineral density loss. Revenue from oncology treatments and established products like Enbrel are also down.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Although the markets looked fine yesterday after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, it didn't take long for the panic to set back in. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 740 points today as investors digested the Fed's biggest hike since 1994 and turned their attention to the economic outlook.

The Dow closed the day below 30,000 for the first time in nearly a year and a half. Mortgage rates also soared higher, as investors grew more concerned about a potential recession and the magnitude of that recession.

The big losers on the day were American Express, Nike, and Caterpillar. While the majority of the Dow finished the day down, there were four stocks in the index that managed to survive the blood bath.

The 4 survivors

The big-box retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT) finished the highest of any Dow stock, gaining just over 1% on the day. Over the last five days, Walmart has also managed to stay in the green despite very difficult trading conditions.

While we've heard large retailers talk about the shift away from discretionary goods in recent days, the consumer is still spending heavily on necessities such as groceries, which can greatly benefit Walmart, which now generates about 60% of its revenue from groceries.

Grocery stocks can do well in inflation because the stores can pass the higher costs onto the consumers. Walmart said earlier this year that it continues to take market share in the U.S. grocery category. The company grew grocery sales in the low double-digit percentage range last quarter.

The consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) also managed to scratch out a gain today, with shares up roughly 0.6%. 

With brands such as Pampers, Tide, Bounty, and Gillette, among many other cosmetics and household brands, it made sense that investors shifted over to a stock like Procter & Gamble today. When there are concerns over a recession and rates are on the rise, the market will look less favorably on tech and growth stocks because they are riskier. In addition, higher rates reduce the value of their future cash flows, as well as their earnings power.

But people are still going to need paper towels, diapers, and shaving equipment during a recession, making this stock more recession-proof than others. The other two stocks that eked out a gain today were Merck and Johnson & Johnson.

Should you pile into these names?

I definitely don't hate the idea of adding some of these more recession-proof names like Walmart or Procter & Gamble to your portfolio because people are always going to need these products, making these companies potentially more durable during the volatility.   

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't also take this sell-off as an opportunity to go bargain hunting. If a recession occurs, it could end up being a mild one and recessions don't always last that long either. When looking for discounts, take a long view and focus on the business model as opposed to near-term price action. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post The Dow got crushed — Here are 4 stocks that survived the bloodbath appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Imugene share price closed yesterday at 25 cents and is currently trading at 26 cents.

Below we look at the immuno-oncology company's clinical trial collaboration announcement.

What collaboration was announced?

The Imugene share price is gaining after the company reported that it's entered into a new clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), under its tradename MSD.

The collaborative trial will treat patients with HER-2 positive gastric cancer with Imugene's HER-Vaxx, combined with MSD's pembrolizumab. The trial will evaluate both the safety and efficacy of the combined treatment approach.

Commenting on the collaboration, Leslie Chong, Imugene's CEO, said:

HER-Vaxx has already shown a tolerable safety profile and encouraging efficacy in patients with metastatic HER-2 positive gastric cancer, and we look forward to further evaluating HER-Vaxx with pembrolizumab in a relapsed/refractory metastatic setting.

This collaboration with MSD is significant for our company as it provides the opportunity to optimize and enhance our formulations and utility in an additional setting in an effort to improve outcomes for more patients.

Imugene said the main goal of the study is to evaluate the safety and response rate of the combination therapy. It will also assess patients' "duration of response, progression free survival, overall survival, and biomarker evaluation".

In accordance with the agreement, Imugene will sponsor and fund the clinical study. It said this will be done from its existing budgets and resources.

In return, MSD will provide pembrolizumab for the duration of the study, which is expected to run for at least 24 months.

Imugene share price snapshot

The Imugene share price has been a stellar performer over the past 12 months, up 112%. By comparison, the All Ordinaries has gained 5% over that same time.

The post Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price lifts on major collaboration announcement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And that brings us to today. Yesterday, Berkshire filed its 10F report for the quarter ending 31 March 2021. Although that's a while ago now (and an eternity in the investing world), it's still a great opportunity to get a look inside Buffett's head and see what he's been up to.

So let's dig in.

Buffett's buys

So according to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Berkshire did make some substantial moves over the March quarter. These were mostly selling though. His largest sells were in bank shares, particularly Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC), which the AFR notes Buffett has held for more than three decades now. At the height of Berkshire's Wells Fargo investment, the company owned more than 10% of the US$198 billion bank. But as of 31 march, Berkshire only owned ~675,000 shares, worth roughly US$32.34 million on the most recent pricing.

Berkshire also offloaded shares of another US bank in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), as well as a smaller, but total, stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF).

Another sector that Berkshire and Buffett seem less enamoured with than in the past is oil. In the quarter ending 31 December 2020, Berkshire has a US$4.1 billion position in the oil giant Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). But Berkshire has been selling off this position as well. As of 31 March, Berkshire had just US$2.5 billion worth of Chevron stock left. Perhaps the recent bull run in oil prices has served its purpose for Buffett.

Other shares that Buffett and Berkshire trimmed over the quarter include AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and General Motors Company (NYSE: GM).

In their place, Berkshire has added to its stake in supermarket chain Kroger Co (NYSE: KR), almost doubling its investment over the quarter to 51 million shares (worth US$1.91 billion on today's prices). It has also topped up on communications giant Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), and services company Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC). It also initiated a position in insurance broker Aon PLC (NYSE: AON).

Berkshire's stakes in its largest holdings in Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) remain unchanged for the quarter.

The post Here are the shares that Warren Buffett has been buying (and selling) lately appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) filed its Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, which gave investors a look at what the Oracle of Omaha and his team of investors bought in the third quarter.

Among the list were four pharmaceutical companies: AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). The first three were similarly sized purchases of around $1.8 billion. The Pfizer purchase was substantially smaller, with a market value around $136 million.

Within the industry, there doesn't seem to be a theme among the four drugmakers.

Merck and Bristol Myers are heavily into oncology. Bristol Myers expanded its cancer treatments last year with the acquisition of Celgene. Merck is hanging its hat on Keytruda with plans to spin out its women's health and cardiovascular drugs, as well as some other brands into Organon & Co. next year.

AbbVie is looking to diversify away from its reliance on its megablockbuster Humira, which treats a variety of inflammatory disorders. The pharmaceutical company made a big move into dermatology with the acquisition of Allergan, the maker of Botox, which closed earlier this year.

Pfizer is currently most famous for its coronavirus vaccine, but the pharma giant is quite diversified. Like Merck, Pfizer is looking to get more focused by merging its Upjohn generic-drug business with Mylan in a new company called Viatris that's scheduled to start trading on Tuesday. Investors will have to wait for the next Form 13F to see what Buffett does with the shares of Viatris that all Pfizer shareholders received.

The pharmaceutical companies do have one thing in common: They're all trading off their all-time highs and have been for all of 2020, suggesting Buffet might be bargain shopping.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Warren Buffett bought 4 pharma giants in Q3 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What Immutep does

Immutep is a biotechnology company headquartered in Australia. Immutep focuses on personalised bio-therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer. Its main product is eftilagimod alpha (IMP321), a soluble fusion protein, which is in clinical development for the treatment of cancer. Immutep has two other clinical candidates (IMP701 and IMP731) that are fully licensed to major pharmaceutical partners, and a fourth candidate (IMP761) which is in pre-clinical development. 

The company was originally built on CVac, a therapeutic cancer vaccine. In late 2014, the privately held French immunotherapy company Immutep SA was purchased by Prima Biotech. It is now dual listed with one listing on the ASX and another as Immutep ADS Representing 10 Ord Shs (NASDAQ: IMMP).

INSIGHT-004 trial

The Immutep share price is soaring higher today as it was announced that the company saw improving results from the INSIGHT-004 trial. The trial is evaluating the combination of Immutep's lead product candidate, IMP321 with a human antibody (avelumab), in 12 patients with different solid tumours, primarily gastrointestinal.

In positive news for the biotech, 41.7% of patients showed a partial response to the combination therapy of IMP321 and avelumab (previously 33%). Furthermore, there was encouraging levels of anti-tumour activity signals in a variety of the cancer indications. These are usually not typically sensitive to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy.

On a final note, the combination of IMP321 and avelumab continues to be safe and well tolerated by patients.

TACTI-002 Study

The TACTI-002 study is being conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK). The study is evaluating the combination of IMP321 with Merck & Co's Keytruda drug in patients with neck squamous cell carcinoma or lung cancer.

The study has produced three complete responses, with two in neck squamous cell carcinoma and one in lung cancer. A complete response indicated the complete disappearance of all lesions.

However it must be noted that, despite the improvement, the study has only produced a response in a total of 8 patients out of the 109 in the trial.

What now for the Immutep share price?

The improving results are great news for shareholders as the company seeks to return to its former highs. The Immutep share price has been on an impressive run since its lows in late March this year. The stock is up a huge 165% from its March low of 10 cents.

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Thanks to a number of favourable tailwinds, I believe the sector is well-positioned for solid growth over the next few decades.

But which shares should you buy? Here are two healthcare shares that the experts are tipping for big things:

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK)

The founder and CIO of Antipodes Global Investment Company Ltd (ASX: APL), Jacob Mitchell, is a fan of this American multinational pharmaceutical company. The lead portfolio manager is particularly positive on Merck & Co's Keytruda treatment for late-stage cancer.

He explained: "Antipodes' interpretation of the clinical evidence to date suggests Keytruda's mechanism of action may be delivering superior outcomes to competitors' drugs. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that nearly all 'fast-following' Chinese biotechs are developing drugs which have the same target as Keytruda as opposed to those drugs from Roche, Astra Zeneca and Merck KGaA, which have a slightly different target."

Mr Mitchell believes the opportunity for Keytruda is much bigger than the market realises. He notes that sales outside the US are set to accelerate as reimbursement broadens through Europe, Japan and China.

"Precedent suggests oncology drug sales outside the US can be 1.5x US sales. Margins are also on the precipice of a major inflection following years of heavy R&D and sales force investments which will begin to normalise at the same time Keytruda's global launch profile accelerates," he added.

Outside this, Mitchell likes Merck & Co's diverse operation and notes that its leading Vaccines and Animal Health businesses are strengthening. These businesses account for almost one-third of sales.

Overall, Antipodes sees Merck & Co as a company with defensive growth, quality attributes, and an attractive valuation. It points out that businesses with similar defensive and structural growth qualities are trading at significantly higher multiples. This is despite many of them having less attractive growth rates.

Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are very positive on this developer of novel biologic therapies for the treatment of eye diseases. This is due the release of positive results from a study related to its OPT-302 combination therapy for treatment-naïve patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) last year.

That study revealed that the OPT-302 (2.0 mg) combination therapy showed statistical superiority for the most accepted and sensitive primary efficacy outcome. This is a big positive for the company as the current standard of care treatments for wet AMD generated sales of US$3.7 billion in 2018.

In addition to this, the company notes that there is potential for the therapy to be used for Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) as well. This is an even more lucrative market where the current standard of care currently generates sales of US$6.2 billion per annum.

Goldman said: "The strength of benefit demonstrated in the 'occult' sub-population (40-45% of patients) was highly significant and substantially ahead of our expectations. This is the group in which existing treatments have relatively less success and hence, arguably, have greater need for an effective therapy."

"Above all, this result gives us greater confidence that OPT-302 will reach commercial stage. We tweak up the probability of approval from 50% to 55% (though still in line with accepted industry averages in this indication, at this stage)."

Goldman Sachs has a conviction buy rating and $5.20 price target on Opthea's shares.

The post Experts are tipping these healthcare shares for big things appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.