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Stock picks by the pros
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January 12, 2001: 1:00 p.m. ET
J&J, Medtronic, Rational, American Express, and Citigroup looking good
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Market strategists reviewed stocks in sectors such as health care, Internet, and banking on Friday, recommending companies such as Baxter International.
As the markets fell in midday trading, recent guests on CNNfn commented on the stocks they are buying and why.
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 RON HILL'S STOCK PICKS:
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AXP
C
AFL
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Ron Hill, partner and equity strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, said that currently, two big caps that are worth looking at are American Express (AXP: Research, Estimates) and Citigroup (C: Research, Estimates). He also said that insurer AFLAC (AFL: Research, Estimates) is still looking very attractive.
American Express is trading down 19 cents to $47.69 with a 52-week high of $63 and a 52-week low of $39.83.
Citigroup is trading down $1.19 to $53.81 with a 52-week high of $59.12 and a 52-week low of $35.34.
AFLAC is trading down $3.31 to $61.31 with a 52-week high of $74.93 and a 52-week low of $33.56.
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MICHAEL LEGG'S STOCK PICK:
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SFE
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Michael Legg, Internet analyst with Jefferies & Co., said he really isn't pushing many stocks heavily in his sector, but one company he does like is SafeGuard Scientifics (SFE: Research, Estimates). "It has really gotten beaten down from a value perspective. It's a way to get a more diverse approach to the infrastructure in the B2B market, right now," he said.
SafeGuard Scientifics is trading up 38 cents to $8.19 with a 52-week high of $99 and a 52-week low of $4.50.
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JOHN MCPEAKE'S STOCK PICK:
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RATL
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John McPeake of Prudential Securities said he is positive about Rational's (RATL: Research, Estimates) outlook going forward. "As a company that provides products that are improving the productivity of programmers, and skilled programmers are a very scarce resource, they're very expensive. And during an economic slowdown, people are the most expensive things to add. So, if you can get 50 percent productivity increases, which is what Rational's products deliver for their customers, it will be a key area of spending going forward," McPeake said. His forecast over the next five years in earnings is about 38 percent, and his target is $65.
Rational is trading up $1.25 to $46.44 with a 52-week high of $70.62 and a 52-week low of $21.15.
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BRIAN BELSKI'S STOCK PICKS:
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BAX
JNJ
MDT
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Brian Belski, market strategist at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, said he continues to like some of the stocks within health care area like Baxter International (BAX: Research, Estimates), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: Research, Estimates), and Medtronic (MDT: Research, Estimates). "We think maybe on a longer term basis, their valuations are a little inflated here. But we think that on a near-term basis, that they look very, very timely," he said.
Baxter International is trading down $1.19 to $83.44 with a 52-week high of $91.12 and a 52-week low of $51.75.
Johnson & Johnson is trading up $2 to $94.44 with a 52-week high of $105.93 and a 52-week low of $66.12.
Medtronic is trading up $1.81 to $54.69 with a 52-week high of $62 and a 52-week low of $32.75. 
-- by Staff Writer Lucy Banduci
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