Bristol Myers shares fall after a failed trial. This is our plan for the stock — for now

Published Wed, Apr 23 20252:35 PM EDT

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: Stocks are trading higher on Wednesday, with the S & P 500 poised for a second consecutive session of strong gains, though it has pulled back from its earlier highs. Two of the market's main fears — an early termination of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and an effective trade embargo with China due to high tariffs — eased following President Donald Trump's comments late Tuesday. We took a closer look at Trump's comments and the other market dynamics at play earlier on Wednesday, Cobenfy follow-up: Bristol Myers Squibb shares dropped Wednesday, missing out on the broader market rally, after the company said Tuesday night that a late-stage trial evaluating its schizophrenia drug Cobenfy did not reach the threshold for a statistically significant difference when used as an adjunctive treatment. An adjunctive treatment, or therapy, means the drug was used in addition to a primary treatment to increase effectiveness. There are no currently approved adjunctive therapies for schizophrenia. We've had high hopes for Cobenfy since it was the first novel therapy for schizophrenia to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration in decades. It was encouraging to see the data show an improvement for the majority of patients in the trial, but the latest news serves as a tough reminder that there are no guarantees when it comes to drug trials. Importantly, this study does not change Cobenfy's outlook as a standalone treatment — sometimes called a monotherapy — for schizophrenia, and that's where most of this market opportunity is. In addition, it's likely that some physicians will still use Cobenfy as an "off-label" adjunctive treatment for patients since the trial still showed modest improvement, and there was no change in safety and tolerability. This is probably one reason why shares are not down as much as they were in after-hours trading Tuesday. The treatment is currently being studied in several other major indications, including Alzheimer's disease agitation and psychosis. Earlier this year, Bristol Myers executives said they believe Alzheimer's could be its largest opportunity for Cobenfy. The company is expected to report data on an Alzheimer's pyschosis trial later this year. However, we are a little more guarded about future trials due to this setback. Bristol Myers is scheduled to report earnings before the opening bell on Thursday, and we are simply holding the position — not buying into this weakness — until we get a better sense of how the Cobenfy ramp is performing. If strong uptake helps sales outperform the market's expectation, which is currently $17 million, per FactSet, it could help repair some of the narrative. We'll get a better sense when we hear from management tomorrow. We'll be lowering our price target as well to account for the update, though exactly where it ends up depends on Thursday's earnings. Up next: No companies in the portfolio report after the closing bell, but Discover Financial is one to watch since it will be acquired by Capital One on May 18 . Shares of Capital One are up about 4% Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings Tuesday night, but even at the stock's current levels, we think the market is underappreciating the benefits of the deal. Other companies reporting are IBM, Texas Instruments, Chipotle, Whirlpool, Lam Research, Service Now, Edwards Life Sciences, United Rentals and Newmont. Before the opening bell Thursday, we'll see earnings from Club companies Dover and the aforementioned Bristol Myers. Some other companies reporting are Merck, Procter & Gamble, Dow Inc, Pepsico, Hasbro, Southwest Air, American Airlines, Nasdaq, Keurig Dr. Pepper, L3Harris, Freeport McMoRan, PG & E, and Tractor Supply. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.