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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (208)	6/4/1998 1:25:00 PM
From: KENNETH R SANDERS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

A WONG, No thanks, I already subscribe to WONG Publications(better price}<G>

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (208)	6/4/1998 7:17:00 PM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Even the best analysts missed Pfizer Drug stock stars see earnings boom from new products By Steve Gelsi, CBS MarketWatch Thu Jun 04 02:04:28 1998 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Hermant Shah isn't an analyst for a brokerage house, but his moves with his investing firm HKS & Co. of Warren, N.J., draw Wall Street attention. Shah is a regular on The Wall Street Journal's All Star list, which lauded him for leading the drug category industry for picking stocks for two years in a row. Yet even he underestimated the furor over Pfizer when it introduced Viagra. Pfizer's (PFE) stock has traded as much as 20 percent higher since April 1. "We missed Pfizer in the beginning," he said. "When we saw the early data on Viagra sales, we liked the stock a lot." Therein lies the challenge faced by even the best of the stock whizzes in the biz. Sudden, and often unexpected, stock runups are common as companies hit home runs from a growing roster of new drugs. In April, Viagra took the stage, followed by Lilly's (LLY) breast cancer drug Evista in late May. In between, shares in EntreMed (ENMD) leaped as much as 588 percent on May 4 on a New York Times report that the company may have found a cure for cancer. Analysts point out that investors can bank on a healthy climb in leading drug stocks because of a steady parade of new drugs, which have higher margins than older products. Overall, the drug category will grow to a $110 billion industry this year, up from $88 billion in 1997, according to IMS America. Double-digit growth may continue for years. Analysts point to several trends revitalizing the health category: affordable HMO co-payments for prescription drugs; an aging population; and more prevalent advertising of prescription drugs. Hermant Shah gets laurels Best drug pickers Hermant Shah, HKS & Co. Jerry Brimeyer, UBS Securities Paul Brooke, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Hermant Shah, with his Wall Street Journal laurels, is a solid first choice for the list. His decision to invest more heavily in ÿ Warner-Lambert (WLA) was a hit. The stock saw a significant sell-off last fall, when its price dropped about 40 points. But Shah hung on and it started climbing back. In April, the stock jumped 6 1/2 to 175 3/8 on news that its anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor grabbed market share. It climbed on anticipation of the diabetes drug Rezulin, and on its earnings reports in April. On May 22, the company staged a 2-for-1 stock split. Despite the strength of Warner-Lambert, Shah is more bullish on Pfizer, which may see as much as $4 billion in sales from Viagra. Shah said the company's stock is far from topping out. "Right now Pfizer is the stock to own," he said. Paul Brooke looks at Warner-Lambert, Pfizer Among the big caps, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Paul Brooke picks Warner-Lambert, Monsanto (MTC) and Pfizer. He says he missed the jump on Lilly's Evista, but includes the company on his "buy" list now. Brooke, a member of Institutional Investor's All-America Research Team, has recently put the finishing touches on a list of mid cap stock picks. He's bullish on Alza (AZA) for its incontinence drugs and Forest Lab (FRX) for an anti-depression drug. "In general, some mid-caps have lagged, but there's always an opportunity to leverage more performance with select names," he said. Contrarian: Brimeyer? UBS Securities' Jerry Brimeyer has had a "buy" on Schering-Plough (SGP) for the past 10 years. About 80 percent of that time, it was a contrarian position. "That's probably my best overall pick," Brimeyer said of Schering-Plough, which has seen its stock double to about 90 in the past year. "I always felt the company could see double-digit growth. I often like companies because other people don't." Another pick is Bristol Meyers (BMY), because of the company's offerings in over-the-counter medicine and the growing popularity of home remedies. He rates the company as a "hold." Despite being at odds at times with his peers, Brimeyer backed up Shah and Brooke on the Lilly, Pfizer and Warner-Lambert. Other stars Jami Rubin of Schroder is often mentioned as a leading guru. Several other analysts are starting to gain recognition. Among them are: Steve Tighe at Merrill Lynch and Barbara Ryan at Alex. Brown.