NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
With President Bush's economic stimulus package aimed at bolstering the economy's tenuous recovery by accelerating tax breaks and eliminating taxes on dividends, among other moves, two money managers appeared on CNNfn to suggest companies that may fare well in the drug, retail and energy sectors.
David Scott, portfolio manager for Chase Growth Fund, sees office products retailer Staples in a position to continue taking market share from its rivals.
| David Scott's picks
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| Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA)
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"They recently report above-average, above-expectation earnings and its sales are growing rapidly," he said. "They have a higher gross margin than technology retailers, which are not doing so well. So we think that they'll continue to take market share from weaker competitors like Office Depot and continue to do very well."
Scott's second selection is Teva Pharmaceuticals. "We think the generic pharmaceuticals are going to do particularly well. The population aging is in their favor, plus a number of proprietary drugs are coming off of patent, and that will benefit generics as a group," he noted. "And Teva has a wide array of generic products."
Anadarko Petroleum rounds out Scott's picks. "Natural gas prices are rising as well as crude prices," he said. "Anadarko is one of the largest independent gas producers and exploration companies and we think they are well positioned to benefit from the rise in gas prices and an increase in exploration in general."
Funds under Scott's management own stakes in the companies mentioned.
Shares of Staples (SPLS: down $0.19 to $18.19, Research, Estimates) are in a 52-week range of $22.45 to $11.68.
Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA: up $1.07 to $39.15, Research, Estimates) shares have been between $40.17 and $25.84 in the last year.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC: down $1.80 to $46.98, Research, Estimates) shares are in a 52-week range of $58.55 to $36.77.
Douglas Altabef, managing director of Matrix Asset Advisors, says drugmaker Schering-Plough has struggled of late but may be poised for an upward move due to takeover speculation.
"Well, Schering is sort of one of the weak sisters in the drug area. Large-cap drug stocks, as a group, are going to be interesting. This year there's a lot of political pressure off them and Schering is probably a takeover candidate, quite candidly," he said. "It's been rumored for a while and as the value of these drug stocks go up, the currency of using stock to acquire someone becomes more viable. I think Schering is a takeover candidate."
| Douglas Altabef's picks
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Altabef's second pick is Symbol Technologies. "Management is saying good things about it in terms of turning a corner and its future prospects and I think at these levels it's an attractive buy."
Citigroup caps Altabef's picks. "Headline risk not withstanding, this is really the premiere financial institution in the country and is going to benefit tremendously going forward from economic recovery."
Shares of Schering-Plough (SGP: down $0.61 to $23.03, Research, Estimates) are in a 52-week range of $36.25 to $16.10.
Symbol Technologies (SBL: Research, Estimates) shares have been between $16.90 and $4.98 in the last year.
Citigroup (C: down $0.18 to $37.13, Research, Estimates) shares are in a 52-week range of $51.06 to $24.48.
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