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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6170)	10/29/1998 6:16:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Respond to of 9523

Five Strong Stocks Power Large-Cap Funds Dan Moreau 10/28/98 Investor's Business Daily Page B1 Several Portfolio Managers Explain Why They're Hanging On Microsoft, General Electric, Pfizer, Cisco Systems, Warner- Lambert. Consider them gilt-edged blue chips. These are among the big-cap stocks that drove the market to record highs for more than two years through last July. They also powered most of the big-cap growth mutual funds, according to Morningstar research analyst Michael Baass. Baass searched a universe of 348 large-cap growth funds to find the most widely held stocks by dollar amount as a percentage of the portfolio. The widespread presence of these blue chips in funds is significant. Such institutions have a big impact on the fate of these stocks. Microsoft represented 3.4% of the 348 funds' total net assets and was a holding in 295 funds. The world's largest software maker, Microsoft shares are up more than 60% this year. An antitrust trial that began last week in Washington seems to have had little impact on Microsoft's long-term outlook among fund managers. GE is in 234 of the funds and represents 2.75% of the funds' assets. GE is a puzzle of various businesses run by what many analysts believe is the best management team in the world and best corporate leader - Jack Welch. Pfizer is in 262 of the funds and accounts for 2.47% of fund dollars. Pfizer's Viagra potency drug was a huge success. But the company is known for the strength of its pipeline of drugs. Cisco, in 298 of the funds and the most widely held, represents 2.26% of their assets. Cisco is the leading builder of the Internet highway and one of the great growth stories of the '90s. Drug maker Warner-Lambert is in 208 of the funds and accounts for 1.55% of fund dollars. Considered an up-and-comer, Warner-Lambert shares have nearly doubled this year on the strength of several successful recent drug introductions. The list is not a copy of the top five of the S&P 500, where Exxon, Merck and Intel take up the next positions after Microsoft and GE. The discrepancy is probably best explained by the higher earnings growth rates of Pfizer, Cisco and Warner-Lambert. There are common benchmarks and attributes that explain much of their popularity, and growth tops the list for many fund managers. "I own all of them," said Ken Corba, manager of Heritage Growth Equity Fund. He bought shares because the companies match his investment philosophy. "I want to own wealth-creating businesses," he said. "So I look for high growth rates, high profit margins and high predictability of earnings. "Microsoft is a 25% grower, Cisco is 30%, Warner-Lambert is 23% and growing. GE Chairman Jack Welch has GE so finely calibrated he delivers solid earnings every quarter." Corba said he is also looking for companies where "the future is as bright as the past. "I owned Philip Morris and sold it," he said. "Philip Morris clearly is fighting a defensive battle, and their future is not as bright. Cisco's future is even brighter than its past." For Fritz Reynolds, manager of Reynolds Blue Chip Growth Fund, up 23% this year, said he owns all five because "you find the No. 1 stock in a growth industry and bet it will stay No. 1. It's like a course in probabilities," he said. "Twenty years ago, it was chemicals and paper, now it is health care and tech companies," he added. "My only hope is that they don't get ahead of themselves in share price and I would have to sell them." T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund manager Larry Puglia also owns all five companies. Warner-Lambert is the top holding in the portfolio. "It has the best organic growth in the pharmaceutical business," he said. "And like the others in this group, it has seasoned management. "All these companies know how to manage expenses and how to allocate capital to the highest-return business," he added. For John Wilson, manager of State Street Research Trust, the key to understanding performance is not only dominance in their field, but how they meet expectations. "They are in almost all cases meeting or exceeding the numbers for earnings growth and revenue growth," he said. "That is not exactly a common occurrence. That means they are growing at a very high rate." Their very size makes a difference, too, says Jeffrey Lindsey. He is portfolio manager for Putnam Growth Opportunities Fund. "Big companies can be successful because of their size," he explained. "They can use that power to extend their growth. They can buy out or hurt smaller companies in their industry. It's no accident that these companies continue to perform well."

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6170)	10/29/1998 6:22:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

News From Japan. BigKNY3 Guys, Viagra on sale soon 10/24/98 Asahi Shimbun / Asahi Evening News Concerned about sales of Viagra via the Internet, bureaucrats have moved quickly to ensure the drug is distributed safely. in this country The Ministry of Health and Welfare is poised to make sales of the anti-impotence drug Viagra legal in this country in the near future, sources said. Domestic pharmaceutical companies have finished doing clinical tests on the drug and submitted their findings to the ministry. If, as expected, the tests do not reveal any problems it only remains for bureaucrats to give the drug their seal of approval, the sources said. They did not give a time-scale, but said the procedure is just a formality. Men prescribed the drug by a hospital doctor will then be able to buy the pill in drug stores. Concerned about growing sales of Viagra from the United States via the Internet, the health ministry has moved quickly to ensure the drug can be distributed safely in this country. Viagra has enjoyed huge popularity in the United States since being introduced by Pfizer Inc. in the spring. That company's Tokyo-based subsidiary, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc., applied in late July to the health ministry to sell the pill here. About 30 hospitals have since conducted clinical tests on the pill in this country. In total, 240 people have acted as guinea pigs. Although 30 percent suffered from headaches, none of the symptoms were serious, suggesting to the health ministry that Viagra is safe, the sources said. The test results were similar to those carried out in the 40 or so countries that have authorized the drug. "If used properly, Viagra is not dangerous. We will fully educate doctors on how to prescribe it," said Masafumi Shirai, who led the team of doctors who carried out the tests. Yukie Takimoto, one of those doctors, added, " Viagra was effective for 70 percent of the impotent men who took part in the clinical tests." Doctors will be instructed to ask patients how often they have sex before prescribing Viagra since there is concern that some patients could lie to obtain large doses, part of which they could then sell on illegally. "We will have to be careful in deciding the prescription amounts," Takimoto said. There is also concern about the simultaneous use of Viagra with drugs used to combat heart disease, particularly those containing nitroglycerin. It is thought the combination may have the potential to reduce a man's blood pressure enough to kill him, the sources said. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, about 70 Americans have died after taking Viagra . Most were elderly men who were also taking other drugs, though it has yet to be confirmed that the simultaneous use of medicines caused any of the death. In Japan, a man in the 60s who was using a medicine containing nitroglycerin died in late July after taking Viagra he had imported privately. There is currently no law which prevents people buying Viagra from the United States via the Internet. And some people are using the loophole to import the drug and sell it in this country. Organized crime is also thought to be in on the racket. Agreements with the United States and the European Union have simplified paperwork and helped smooth the way for the drug's swift introduction here. Under the agreement, pharmaceutical firms that are applying for the approval of drugs are allowed to present the results of clinical tests which were approved in other countries. This allowed Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc. to submit part of its tests carried out in the United States when applying to the ministry.