“É o preconceito contra a flexibilização que tem conduzido a salários baixos”

[Alfred E. Neuman]

A report in the Wall Street Journal said that the Food and Drug Administration concluded in a study released to a U.S. Senator that more than 27,000 heart attacks may have been prevented if patients had used Pfizer's (PFE: news, chart, profile) Celebrex instead of Merck's (MRK: news, chart, profile).

The figures stem from an analysis of patients from a database of HMO Kaiser Permanente, the report said. Merck, a Dow component, was marked at $33.52 in Frankfurt, up from its $33.43 close. Dealers in London said the stock was offered at $33.45 on Instinet.

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Sun Microsystems (SUNW)

4 Outubro 2004

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Alcan (AL)

4 Outubro 2004

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Pfizer (PFE)

4 Outubro 2004

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Silicon Storage Technologies (SSTI)

[Alfred E. Neuman]

Stock of the month: Pfizer

By CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:01 AM ET Oct. 4, 2004


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- With dollar volume among the top 10 for the month of September, Pfizer is the Trading Strategies Stock of the Month for October.


September's stock of the month, Qualcomm (QCOM: news, chart, profile), ended the month at $40.45, up from $38.05 at the beginning of the period.

Of the three stocks recommended by last month's panel:

First Marblehead (FMD: news, chart, profile) rose to $47.86 from $41.37.

Headwaters (HDWR: news, chart, profile) rose to $31.75 from $30.61.

Research in Motion (RIMM: news, chart, profile) rose to $73.80 from $60.22.


Vahan Janjigian -- Forbes Growth Investor

"What happened to Merck is actually pretty good news for Pfizer." The dollar volume this month is "related to the Merck situation." He adds that "Right now I'm inclined to believe that the problems with Vioxx are specific to the drug and not the whole class" of Cox Inhibitors.

Pfizer (PFE: news, chart, profile) is a "conservative buy."

For October he says "one company that I really like is Silicon Storage Technologies (SSTI: news, chart, profile). It's a semiconductor stock and the semiconductor sector is starting to pick up."

Marc Johnson -- The Investment Reporter

Johnson notes that Pfizer has traded a lot with Merck's problems. "They have a strong drug pipeline." One concern is Pfizer's own arthritis drug. "Celebrex is one of their key drugs and it too is a Cox inhibitor. And now I wonder whether it too may lead to an increased risk for heart attacks." Nevertheless, the company has a "long-term history of rising earnings," and has "done much better than Merck," in recent years.

Johnson calls Pfizer a "buy."

For October, he says he likes Alcan (AL: news, chart, profile). The company is spinning off its aluminum rolling division. "Generally when you've got business that is simplifying and focusing, you generally get higher values." The two parts may prove to be worth more separately than together, Johnson says.

Randy Williams-Gurian -- Tech Stock Insights

Pfizer is "in our model portfolio. They're an interesting company. I think they've got a pretty strong pipeline and they're very profitable... All the big pharmaceuticals have been in this wait and see mode on this whole health-care reform and their compensation so the market's very gun shy and trying to figure that out. And we all know what happened to Merck."

The Cox inhibitor situation "would be a reason to not like the stock," he said. But "At some point the big pharma companies are going to rally ... If I were to pick my favorite in the group it'd be Pfizer."

Williams-Gurian calls Pfizer a "hold."

For October, he returns to a previous pick, Sun Microsystems (SUNW: news, chart, profile). "They're finally figuring out a strategy to compete in the server market. And I see momentum picking up in the fourth quarter and into 2005. And that should have a positive impact on the stock."