DJ CANADA TIP SHEET: Davis Rea's Martyn Seeks Consistency
By Mary Weil
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--When markets are volatile, portfolio manager Andrew Martyn looks for companies with consistent, stable earnings.
Although Martyn is upbeat about the market in the next 12 months, in the short term he sees the market coming under pressure until at least the third or fourth week in October.
"If your timeframe is the next four weeks, I don't see there's any reason to go out and buy stocks today or tomorrow...but having said that, fundamentally, it's very, very positive what we have going on in the economy," Martyn said, pointing to Canada's low unemployment and relatively stable currency……
BioChem Pharma Inc. (BCHE) is another stock Martyn favors, but he likes it in the "low 30s" area. BioChem is trading Tuesday at 35.20 in Montreal.
BioChem's 3TC AIDS drug is holding its own, while the company's hepatitis B drug, Zeffix, is its new growth engine, Martyn said.
Martyn is expecting BioChem's earnings to increase about 25% in 1999 over 1998 and a further 22% or 23% in 2000 over 1999, so the earnings are relatively consistent. BioChem also has other drugs in its pipeline - another AIDS drug and a pain-management drug.....snip
Jim
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