"One of the nicest analysts I have ever met." That is how one voter in TheStreet.com's Analyst Rankings -- Equity 2000 survey describes Malone. "Great response time to questions," says another fan, who wishes Malone had more coverage "because she does so well with the names she covers."

In March, Malone made a perfectly timed call on Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Quote - Cramer on JNJ - Stock Picks). Five days after the shares of the hospital-supply behemoth bottomed out at 67 1/4 (down from 105 in November 1999), Malone signaled a buy. She cited "overblown" concern about J&J's estimates and an "absurdly low" valuation. In 3 1/2 months, J&J hit 100; recently it has been trading in the mid-90s.

Malone got recognition for that call, but these days she is focusing on a different crop of picks. Malone is well aware that performance in this group has been a mixed bag. And she thinks it is likely to stay that way. "While, overall, I think the group can modestly outperform, we're going to have to look for particular names to do well, because some of these companies are already pretty generously valued and there aren't many top-line growth stories left," Malone notes.

Two names Malone singles out as being attractive: Baxter International (BAX Quote - Cramer on BAX - Stock Picks) and St. Jude Medical (STJ Quote - Cramer on STJ - Stock Picks). (Salomon Smith Barney does not have investment banking relationships with these companies.)

Baxter has been Malone's top pick since early January. She maintains that the company deserves a medtech multiple, rather than a hospital-supply multiple, because it is steering its revenue and earnings mix toward its high-growth, high-margin biosciences division. In March, she points out, Baxter spun off its low-growth, low-margin business focused on cardiovascular products. (The division is now called Edwards Lifesciences (EW Quote - Cramer on EW - Stock Picks).) "A year ago I would have thought of Baxter as a 12% grower of earnings," Malone says. "Now I think it's a 15% or so grower."