Trump Trade: Trump administration prepares new probe into pharma prices

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

PHARMA PRICES: President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing a new probe into U.S. trading partners over drug pricing, Aime Williams and George Parker of The Financial Times report. The investigations will consider if any U.S. trading partners are underpaying for drugs, three people familiar with the matter told the Times. Trump has repeatedly commented that other countries pay less than the U.S. for the same medicines and plans to take action against nations that refuse to “equalize” prices. Publicly traded drugmakers include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), Novo Nordisk (NVO), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY). Companies involved in the sale of pharmaceuticals include CVS Health (CVS), Cigna (CI), UnitedHealth (UNH), Cardinal Health (CAH), McKesson (MCK) and Cencora (COR).

H-1B VISAS: Walmart (WMT) has paused offers to candidates requiring H-1B visas due to the Trump administration’s $100,000 visa fees, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg’s Jaewon Kang reports. The current guideline primarily impacts Walmart’s corporate employees, and the company is the largest user of H-1B visas among major retail chains. “Walmart is committed to hiring and investing in the best talent to serve our customers, while remaining thoughtful about our H-1B hiring approach,” a Walmart spokeswoman said.

BUY FIRST SOLAR: Needham initiated coverage of First Solar (FSLR) with a Buy rating and $286 price target. The firm views First Solar as one of the “most policy-advantaged ways” to play U.S. utility-scale solar following the One Big Beautiful Bill. Needham sees the company’s free cash flow inflecting in 2026, creating “optionality” for platform expansion and capital returns. Longer term, improved visibility into 2028 domestic pricing could increase First Solar’s earnings power, the firm tells investors in a research note.