Wells Fargo analyst David Maris sees a negative read-through for Mylan regarding yesterday's news of Merck Sharp & Dohme Research returning the rights to biosimilar Lantus to Samsung Bioepis. While some view this as a positive, as there will likely be one fewer competitor in the market if Mylan-Biocon make it to the U.S. market, that is a "simplistic and optimistic" take, Maris tells investors in a research note. The more important factor to consider is the "why" Merck dropped out, rather than the number of competitors, the analyst writes. He believes Merck returned the rights to Samsung Bioepis due to the deteriorating pricing environment and pricing outlook for insulin and Lantus biosimilars. Lilly's and Sanofi's manufacturing capacity, along with aggressive discounting, has created a "severe pricing environment," Maris contends. He believes that if Samsung Bioepis and Merck can't make the economics work, than one should be skeptical of Mylan and Biocon having substantial success. Maris has a Market Perform rating on Mylan shares.

Wells Fargo analyst David Maris views this morning's results from Novartis' (NVS) generic unit Sandoz as "another negative datapoint" for generic stocks, notably Teva (TEVA), Mylan (MYL) and Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMNX). Novartis reported Sandoz net sales of $2.4B, down 4% on constant currency, and noted that sales were pressured by 8% pricing erosion in the quarter, Maris tells investors in a research note. Novartis also highlighted that U.S sales for Sandoz declined 17% due to "industry wide pricing pressure," Maris points out. The analyst views the quarter as a "potential warning signal" for the Q3 earnings season for companies with large U.S. commodity generic exposure. He maintains his caution on "generic industry margin risks."

Wells Fargo analyst David Maris believes Teva (TEVA) shares are bouncing back to fair value from recent declines after the company reported Q3 earnings that beat his above consensus estimate and hosted a "surprisingly bullish" quarterly call. He also sees a spillover effect occurring with Mylan (MYL) as the generic sector's advance reinforces buyers' belief that the stocks are undervalued and investors' "fear of missing out" drives increased interest. While Maris acknowledges Ajovy, Austedo, cost cuts and tax management are doing well, he believes much of Teva's business continues to show significant challenges and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares.