In the last week Schering-Plough has shed 23.4% of its value. If you believe in buying distressed stock, this is the time to swoop in, right?
Not so fast.
In a feeble attempt to shore up investor confidence, Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan (left with wife Noreen) sent out a press release announcing that he would buy $2 million SGP stock with his own money.
Many business journalists rapidly penned predictable headlines like "SGP's CEO Hassan: Putting Money Where His Mouth Is."
Watching this spectacle was like watching a con man stealing candy from children:
Last year, Carrie Cox, President Schering-Plough, dumped SGP stock to the tune of $28 million. Now the CEO wants to compensate for this by investing $2 million, less than 10% of what Carrie dumped?
According to news reports, Fred Hassan, after having cashed in from selling Pharmacia to Pfizer and a few other profitable gigs, is worth at least $100 million. Looking at past Pharmacia financials this seems reasonable.
So he spent an estimated 2% of his net worth, to "prove" to the stock market that he "believes" in the company, and wrote in his press release, "I firmly believe in VYTORIN and ZETIA. Further, I believe this company is now a strong and diverse global competitor, with sound long- term fundamentals, that is capable of driving long-term growth."
If Mr. Hassan truly BELIEVED in Schering-Plough he wouldn't invest just $2 million in the company, he would invest $28 million, the amount Carrie just got rid of. After all, the stock has dropped almost 25%, so it's a buying opportunity?
Right?
And this is where Teflon-Hassan lost the gamble.
"Don’t look at what I say, but look at what I do. But more importantly look at what I don't do--I don't put my fortune at risk in SGP stock, and neither should you."
Today is the day when Mr. Hassan officially lost it.
And the stock market yawned and sent SGP shares down another 1.53%.
(Footnote: No one knows where any stock will go. Neither does BrandweekNRX. But it is our firm opinion that Fred Hassan, based on his announcement today, does not in his heart believe Schering-Plough is a good investment and neither does Schering-Plough President Carrie Cox. Of course, they could both be wrong, like CEO Sam Waksal who saw his stock go up after he went to jail for insider trading because he dumped Imclone stock.)
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