"Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), a pharmaceutical products company, is a buy based on our 'Benjamin Graham value' model," says John Reese who assesses stocks based on the investment criteria of numerous "legendary" investors.

The editor of Validea, explains, "Indeed, the stock earns a 100% score, meeting all of the investment criteria we review in for this value-oriented screen.

U.S. stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) agreed to purchase Genzyme (GENZ) and Dell (DELL) reported upbeat quarterly earnings.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to 12,232 and S&P 500 futures rose 4.20 points to 1,330.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5.50 points to 2,387.

U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.34% to close at 12,227.

Sanofi-Aventis (SNY - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company said last night that its experimental breast cancer treatment iniparib failed to meet its goal in a Phase 3 study. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on SNY.

This morning, SNY opened at $33.83. So far today the stock has hit a high of $34.01 and a low of $33.29. As of 12:30, SNY is trading at $33.41, down $1.84 (-5.2%). The chart for SNY looks bullish and S&P gives SNY a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

"Our model portfolios are based on selecting stocks that meet the investing criteria of "legendary" investors," explains John Reese.

The editor of Validea continues, "Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), which is involved in pharmaceuticals and human vaccines, earns a Guru Score of 100% based on the value investing strategy of Benjamin Graham.

"In its pharmaceutical activity, the company specializes in six therapeutic areas: diabetes, oncology, thrombosis and cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS), and internal medicine.

Genzyme (GENZ - option chain) shares are rising today on a report in the Wall Street Journal which says that Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) could make a formal takeover offer to GENZ's board that could be worth about $20 billion. SNY declined to comment on the report. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on GENZ.

GENZ opened this morning at $70.31. So far today the stock has hit a low of $69.97 and a high of $70.97. As of 11:55, GENZ is trading at $70.09 up $2.09 (3.1%). The chart for GENZ looks bullish and S&P gives GENZ a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

If you're interested on taking a bet on a potential high-flyer, you might want to take a look at Allergan (AGN).

Goldman Sachs recently said they expect more M&A activity in pharmaceutical and that Allergan is a prime candidate for a takeover. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) are two companies analysts are speculating may be interested in acquiring Allergan.

Goldman also upgraded its price target for Allergan on its Conviction Buy List from $78 to $81.

It appears that U.S.-based drug makers and cigarette companies caught the attention of traders Tuesday -- at least, that's what they're searching for.

If you want to know what stocks traders are interested in right now at this very second, you need look no further than what's hot in Google.

Here's what's hot Friday:

"Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) is a pharmaceutical group engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of health care products; the stock gets a 100% score in meeting the criteria for our investment screen based on d value investing criteria used by the legendary Benjamin Graham," says John Reese.

The editor of Validea newsletter explains, "The company's business includes two main activities: pharmaceuticals and human vaccines. The company is also present in animal health products.

"In its pharmaceutical activity, the Company specializes in six therapeutic areas: diabetes, oncology, thrombosis and cardiovascular, central nervous system), and internal medicine.

Sanofi-Aventis (SNY - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company announced this morning that it has settled patent infringement suits with Hospira (HSP) and Par Pharmaceutical Companies (PRX) related to certain generic versions of its cancer treatment Eloxatin. The settlements will stop HSP and PRX from selling generic versions of Eloxatin from late-June until August 2012. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on SNY.

This morning, SNY opened at $36.51. So far today the stock has hit a high of $36.69 and a low of $36.43. As of 12:10, SNY is trading at $36.69, down $0.51 (-1.4%). The chart for SNY looks neutral and S&P gives SNY a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

"The stocks on our Validea Hot List are chosen because they meet the investment criteria of numerous "legendary" investors, such as Ben Graham, Warrenn Buffett and Peter Lynch," explains John Reese.

The editor of Validea says, "Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) has been added to our buy list based on our Growth/Value Investor screen which assesses stock based on the strategy used by James P. O'Shaughnessy. The stock passes this screen with a 100% score."

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Our top stock pick for 2010 is ImmunoGen (IMGN)," says biotech specialist John McCamant.

In his The Medical Technology Stock Letter, he explains, "The company's potent cancer-cell killing antibodies were developed for targeted delivery to tumor cells."

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it looks like the patent worries aren't so dire after all.

Now that we see that health care reform is not going to bring price caps or socialization of medicine, we are beginning to see some real expansion in the drug stocks, including Merck (MRK) (Cramer's Take), Bristol-Myers (BMY) (Cramer's Take) and Lilly (LLY) (Cramer's Take). But there is one drug stock that is continually met with skepticism -- Sanofi Aventis (SNY) (Cramer's Take), the French vaccine and pharmaceutical maker run by Christian Viehbacher. The resistance is obvious, as his biggest two drugs are coming off patent very soon, and his hope is that by 2013 the company might again reach 2008 levels.

Sounds like there's no reason to buy this one. Sounds like its 4% dividend isn't safe.

Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY - option chain) shares are rising today after health insurer Unitedhealth Group (NYSE: UNH) announced that it would fully cover swine flu vaccinations, even for members that do not have immunizations typically covered. As one of the drugmakers that is producing a swine flu vaccine, SNY stands to benefit. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SNY.

SNY opened this morning at $33.69. So far today the stock has hit a low of $33.63 and a high of $34.17. As of 11:45, SNY is trading at $33.89 up $1.02 (3.1%). The chart for SNY looks neutral and S&P gives SNY a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) to Buy from Hold on valuation with the stock down 65% in two months as they believe the company has a "best-in-class fundamental story." The firm lowered its target to $25 from $30.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation and believes near-term cost reductions could provide a positive catalyst.
• Citigroup upgraded New York Times (NYSE: NYT) to Hold from Sell and lowered its target to $5.50 from $7 on valuation and believes the dividend cut will boost the company's liquidity.
• Pantry (NASDAQL PTRY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
• LECG Corp (NASDAQ: XPRT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Outperform from Sector Perform.

Analyst downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Suntech (NYSE: STP) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $6 from $25 as they believe concerns about a convert refinancing in February 2010 will continue to weigh on the stock.
• Credit Suisse cut Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Underperform from Outperform due to expectations for a decline in wireless infrastructure spending.
• ING downgraded shares of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy as they believe it will be challenging for the company to execute asset sales planned at reducing debt in the current environment.

Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY - option chain) shares are soaring higher today after the company announced that its CEO Gerard Le Fur will be replaced by Chris Viehbacher, head of GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) North American pharmaceutical operations. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months as the CEO gets a honeymoon period, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SNY.

SNY opened this morning at $35.59. So far today the stock has hit a low of $35.28 and a high of $35.84. As of 11:55, SNY is trading at $35.52, up $1.99 (5.9%). The chart for SNY looks bullish and S&P gives SNY a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a December bull-put credit spread below the $32.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 19.0% return in just three and a half months as long as SNY is above $32.50 at December expiration. Sanofi would have to fall by more than 8% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.