TheStreet.com Analyst Rankings
Analyst Rankings: Baxter, Abbott Among Faves in Health Care Equipment
TSC Staff
08/15/00 - 11:43 AM EDT
While pharmaceutical stocks tend to move as a group, individual performance is the name of the game in health care equipment and supplies. Still, the majority of the 16 or so equipment and supply stocks covered by Wall Street's big shops did one thing in sync recently: They beat the
S&P 500, and handily, through the end of July. Experts agree that the good news will continue well into 2001.
But investors who are considering playing this sector, either with slower-moving hospital-supply stocks or with racier medical-device names, need to act fast. Stocks in this group don't hesitate.
Consider this: No sooner did one of our top-ranked analysts recommend
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) at 70 than it rapidly ratcheted up to 100. Another analyst profiled here saw
Novoste (NOVT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), his No. 1 pick, skyrocket nearly 300% in six months.
Though there is considerable excitement surrounding the newer medical technology, or "medtech" players, our three winning analysts stick with familiar names in selecting their favorite stocks for the next 12 months.
Two choose
Baxter International (BAX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), which has actually become more medtechlike since spinning off its cardiovascular division and focusing more on its high-growth, high-margin biosciences division. The third analyst has settled on
Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), a classic Old World stock, largely because he is optimistic about its new drugs.
Health Care Equipment and Supplies  | 4th Place |
Dan Lemaitre
Merrill Lynch |
| | 5th Place |
Wade King
Robertson Stephens |
| | Best Team |
| Merrill Lynch |
Rate Their Stock Picks: Which stock do you like best? Weinstein and Malone: Baxter International Reicin: Abbott Labs 
