The 2016 election is now less than one month away. Lists are popping up all over the internet of which stocks to buy and sell depending on whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump wins. Most of these lists are pure speculation. Wouldn’t it be great if traders could get the candidates’ take on certain companies right out of their own mouths?
Fortunately, the seemingly endless campaign has provided the two candidates with plenty of opportunities to speak their minds about the economy, business and policy. Neither candidate has been shy about naming names in the business world. From pricing, to taxes to fraud to jobs, both candidates have repeatedly singled out individual companies for what they consider bad behavior.
It’s one thing for a stock to endure some negative headlines. It’s entirely different for a stock to be on the president of the United States’ hit list.
Here are seven stocks that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have called out by name.
Stocks Called Out During 2016 Election: Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)
Since the 1990s, Hillary Clinton has made healthcare a central part of her political platform. The issue of drug pricing first came to the forefront of this campaign back in September of last year.
The New York Times published a piece highlighting the extreme price hikes that “Pharma Bro” CEO Martin Shkreli performed while running Turing Pharmaceuticals. In response, Clinton tweeted that pharmaceutical price gouging was “outrageous.”
The following day, she laid out a plan on her website for a new set of regulations on drug pricing.
Where does Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) fit into all of this? Clinton skewed GILD’s hepatitis C drug pricing at a Cleveland campaign event back in August.
“And you know what really is upsetting about this is that drug company sells that same drug all over the world at a much lower price to everybody else,” she said of GILD. Gilead’s hepatitis C medicines cost between $63,000 and $94,500.
Stocks Called Out During 2016 Election: Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX)
If you think it couldn’t get any worse than the President of the United States bashing your stock by name, it can. In March, Clinton created an entire 30-second TV campaign ad devoted to slamming Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX).
In the ad, Clinton references a letter she received from a woman who has been taking a brand name drug since the 1980s. In that time, the price for 10 vials of the exact same drug has risen from $180 to $14,700.
“The company is called Valeant Pharmaceuticals. I’m going after them. This is predatory pricing, and we’re going to make sure it’s stopped,” Clinton concluded.
Yikes.
Of course, Clinton is just one of VRX’s many problems, and Valeant stock is already down 77.5% so far this year. In addition to outrage over drug pricing, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have been looking into VRX for its non-GAAP accounting practices as well. Traders certainly shouldn’t expect the pressure to go away if Hillary Clinton is elected.
Stocks Called Out During 2016 Election: Wells Fargo & Co (WFC)
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