Barron's Picks And Pans: CVS, Disney, McDonald's, Noble Energy And More

• This weekend's Barron's cover story offers a look at a company set to shake up health care.
• Other featured articles examine prospects for oil drillers as takeover targets and for dividend growth stocks.
• Also, a recent health care spin-off and the newest livestreaming titan.

"Can CVS Fix Health Care?" by Jack Hough makes the case that after its recent huge merger, CVS Health Corp CVS is well positioned for a future in which consumers gain more power over their care. Is this the time for investors to jump in or to take a wait and see attitude?

In "Oil Stocks Are Rising on Hopes for More Mergers," Avi Salzman says that after Chevron's big bet on Anadarko, the focus now swings to U.S. drillers such as Concho Resources Inc CXO and Noble Energy, Inc. NBL.

Andrew Bary's "Alcon Stock Deserves a Long, Hard Look" discusses why eye-care giant Alcon AG ALC has strong growth potential and is better off as an independent company after its spin-off from Swiss drug giant Novartis.

The biggest mistake dividend investors make is confusing a high-yield stock for a growing-yield stock, according to 6 Dividend Growth Stocks Worth a Look" by Lawrence C. Strauss. See how to avoid that with picks like McDonald's Corp MCD.

In Nicholas Jasinski's "Disney's Streaming Goals Draw Cheers on Wall Street," discover why Walt Disney Co DIS added approximately $27 billion in market capitalization on Friday, which is more than the value of CBS.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• What to know about Pinterest before it goes public
• Whether the president cares too much about the stock market
• Whether garbage stocks deserve more love
• Whether silver is ready to shine
• Which nation is leading the driverless car race

Photo via Wikimedia.