UPJOHN A "STRONG BUY" DESPITE HALCION STORY

To reflect a more accelerated rate of decline for the sales of Upjohn's hypnotic Halcion (triazolam), resulting from the negative publicity surrounding this product, Rick Stover and Adele Haley at New York securities house Alex Brown have adjusted their 1991-1993 earnings per share estimates. But they nevertheless conclude that Upjohn stock is a "strong buy."

Since Halcion is a high-profit-margin and low-tax-rate item, its accelerated decline will have a material effect on EPS short term, according to the analysts. But they say that since their model already ass-umed a patent expiration for Halcion in 1992, the long-term outlook for the company's earnings growth potential is unaffected by the current situation.

For 1991, the analysts have adjusted their EPS from $2.95 to $2.93, for 1992 from $3.30 to $3.10 and for 1993 from $3.85 to $3.70. However, for 1994 their original EPS estimate of $4.40 stands.