It was another fear-filled week, as investors were concerned that the Federal Reserve may soon begin taking its foot off the gas. Those fears, combined with lower consumer sentiment compared with last month, a tanking Japanese stock market after the nation's Central bank declined to give additional stimulus, and increasing interest rates led the markets to all move substantially lower this past week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.26%) lost 1.16%, or 177 points, while the S&P 500 fell 1.01% and the Nasdaq slid lower by 1.31%. But despite all the bad reports and fear surrounding the markets, a few of the Dow's components still managed to make it a positive five days of trading.
Shares of Pfizer (PFE -0.34%) gained 3.11%, making it the best-performing Dow component of the week. The main catalyst for the move higher was the announcement that of a $2.15 billion settlement with Teva Pharmaceutical and Sun Pharmaceutical. Pfizer won't be awarded the full $2.15 billion payment, as Takeda will take a portion. Teva and Sun had violated patents Pfizer and Takeda had on its Protonix drug, which helps with heartburn. The settlement was probably more than both Teva and Sun combined made off the sale of their medication, so this settlement will probably ding both companies' profits this quarter. But since Pfizer and Takeda put money into research and development, this may not fully make up what they have lost in the past few years while the infringement was going on.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH 0.04%) was also one of the Dow's big winners this week, after it increased in value by 1.79%. The company received a boost of confidence from the Susquehanna Group on Monday, when the firm increased its price target on the stock from $72 a share to $79. Additionally, UnitedHealth's board of directors approved a dividend increase of 30% two weeks ago, with an ex-dividend date of June 12, which may have increased demand for the stock, as investors had only a few days to buy shares.
Intel (INTC 1.06%) rounded out the top three this week, after it popped higher by 1.5%. Investors pushed shares higher this past week, after it was announced that Intel chips will be used for the new Samsung Galaxy tablet. This is the first big move Intel has made into the mobile market and a great sign that its focus on the mobile arena is now bearing fruit. Investors may also be thinking that now that Intel has become a top mobile player, the likes of Samsung and Google will use more of its chips. Regardless, this was a big win for the company, and investors should be cheering for their company this weekend.
