LONDON, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The two biggest trends in the healthcare industry in the last one year have been the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the expiration of patents on several blockbuster drugs. These trends are expected to have a major impact on drug delivery companies such as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX), Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP), Delcath Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: DCTH) and Alkermes Plc (NASDAQ: ALKS). While supporters of ACA state that the increase in the number of insured individuals as a result of the reform will ultimately benefit healthcare companies, critics on the other hand are saying that rising costs due to ACA will hurt innovation as companies will have to scale back research and development expenses. On Friday, healthcare stocks ended mostly higher, tracking gains in the broad market. StockCall has posted free technical research reports on VRX, HSP, DCTH, and ALKS and these can be accessed by signing up at

http://www.stockcall.com/analysis

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose sharply in Friday's trading session. The stock closed 1.35% higher at $70.78. It reached a 52-week high of $70.85 in Friday's session. Valeant shares have had an excellent run in 2013. Year-to-date, the stock has gained more than 18%. The stock recently broke through $68 resistance level, which is a strong bullish signal. The bullish trend is further confirmed by the recent volume activity and the MACD chart. Download the free report on VRX upon registration at

http://www.StockCall.com/VRX031113.pdf

Shares of Hospira Inc. also rose sharply in Friday's trading session. The stock closed 1.52% higher at $30.11, extending its gains in the last three trading sessions to over 3%. Despite the recent gains, Hospira Inc. shares are still down more than 3.60% for the year. The losses have been mainly due to a sharp decline last month. The company's shares are currently trading well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. However, the stock's MACD chart suggests that the bearish trend has come to an end. The stock's MACD recently crossed above the signal line. HSP technical report can be accessed for free by signing up at

http://www.StockCall.com/HSP031113.pdf

Shares of Delcath Systems Inc. rallied in Friday's trading session. The stock closed 4.26% higher at $1.96, extending its gains in the last three trading sessions to nearly 16%. Delcath shares have had an excellent run in 2013, gaining nearly 60%. The stock recently broke through $1.70 resistance level, which is a strong bullish signal. The positive trend is further confirmed by recent volume activity. The stock has finished higher in 9 of the previous 10 trading sessions. The stock's MACD is also trading above the signal line and zero-line, further confirming the upbeat trend. The free report on DCTH can be downloaded by signing up now at

http://www.StockCall.com/DCTH031113.pdf

Shares of Alkermes Plc also edged higher in Friday's trading session. The stock closed 1.46% higher at $22.87. Year-to-date, the company's shares have now gained nearly 23.50%. The stock has just broken through $22.50 resistance level. It currently has strong support at around $22. The MACD chart for Alkermes is giving strong bullish signals. The stock's MACD is trading well above the signal line and the zero-line. The stock is also trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Free report on ALKS can be accessed by registering at

http://www.StockCall.com/ALKS031113.pdf

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