Yesterday's FDA approval didn't help Taro Pharmaceutical Industries(Nasdaq:TARO) any. The share fell, but that was the share, not the company's business. Teva Pharmaceuticals(Nasdaq:TEVA; TASE:TEVA) rebounded a bit on heavy turnover, apparently due to UBS's recommendation, which balanced out US Bancorp Piper Jaffray's downgrade from the day before yesterday.
Again, I stress that Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP) and Serono's (NYSE:SRA; SWX:SEO) repeated attempts to prove Interferon's superiority over Copaxone sometimes tend to affect the share. Additionally, as long as Teva's takeover of Sicor is not complete, there's always the danger that some analyst may issue a warning. As long as no new facts emerge, it's worthwhile accumulating Teva at below $55. That's my personal opinion, and you're not obliged to take my advice.
A word of warning about Savient Pharmaceuticals(Nasdaq:SVNT), which has been deteriorating steadily since Teva decided to give up on a possible acquisition. I'd like to offer a prize, a visit to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, to whoever can prove to me that there's another biotechnology company around like Savient. One with $103 million in sales, $11 million in profits, almost entirely debt-free, and with a market cap of at less than $300 million. There is nothing like that around. Why? Have we mentioned proper pricing? Why should Savient's pricing be better than NDS Group plc(Nasdaq:NNDS), when the only analyst covering the share has been on vacation for over a year?
Savient's managers also haven't been very good at getting PR exposure in the capital market. They aren't very exciting, period. Savient chairman Dr. Sim Fass has been leading the company since 1984, serving in a variety of posts for almost 20 years. When he first began, the share was trading at $30. Today, the share is at $5, and even though I generally don't like to be uncomplimentary… how could someone do that? I'm surprised that the company's shareholders keep quiet. But maybe Dr. Fass is responsible for them too, and that's the reason for their silence.
Last in our medical sector discussion today is Given Imaging(Nasdaq:GIVN), which fell 6.5% yesterday. I couldn't find a reason why, just as I couldn't find a reason for NDS's fall.
Despite having dropped yesterday, after a 9% rise, ECI Telecom's(Nasdaq:ECIL) star has been on the rise, and UBS Warburg head of Israel office Stephen Levey has continued issuing a "Buy" recommendation. As far as I can recall, Levey was the first analyst to recommend ECI. He notes that the company is progressing nicely. Let's hope that he's right.
OTI(On Track Innovations(Nasdaq:OTIV; XETRA:OT5) has been a big story over the past few weeks. What's important about OTI's big MasterCard win -- together with Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) -- is not just the contract itself, but the fact that they beat out companies like Infineon Technologies (NYSE:XETRA:IFX) and Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG; Amsterdam:PHI). For a little company from Rosh Pina to win a contract like that, you need -- as I always say -- good management. I don't know OTI president and CEO Oded Bashan personally, but I have been following the company since it began trading on Nasdaq, and they've done well. This is another company that has zero analyst coverage. Well, who needs that anyway? When the share hits $30, there'll be five or six analysts who'll stick around until the next crisis.
I don't know if the reason that Ampal - American Israel Corporation(Nasdaq:AMPL) fell so hard yesterday, on relatively heavy turnover, was investor disappointment over not receiving dividends on either ordinary or preferred shares. Really, why was there no dividend? Something smells fishy.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 11 December 2003