Buy Teva Shares Say US Analysts

Analysts Kenneth Nover and John Cowie at US broker A G Edwards & Sons are recommending purchase of American Depositary Receipts in Israeli company Teva for "aggressive growth-oriented investors due to Teva's attractive valuation and prospects."

Earnings per ADR are forecast by the analysts to grow around 20% per year based on the existing business lines. These include a strong US generic business, which is expected to continue to achieve notable growth. This is based on Teva having received 12 product approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration in 1995 and subsequent launches of nine products, along with the 16 Abbreviated New Drug Applications currently pending at the FDA.

Furthermore, the analysts estimate that Copaxone (copolymer-1), Teva's proprietary drug for use in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, will add $0.49 per ADR in 1996, and $1.50 in 1997. This results in estimated earnings per ADR of $2.35 in 1996 and $3.74 in 1997. The analysts say that this produces a compound annual growth rate of 56%.