Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) engages in the development, production, and sale of a range of generic and branded pharmaceuticals, biogenerics, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) worldwide.

The long-term chart shows a stock that has never been in a bear market.

The recent resistance line is merely a pause in its long-term upward march, and it was broken by heavy buying in April. Teva ran to a new all-time high above $55, and then pulled back on profit-taking.

The earnings crunch is on. Among the many companies scheduled to report quarterly results this week are such so-called bellwether stocks as Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), DuPont (NYSE: DD), and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS), all of which analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to report lower earnings for the recent quarter. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD), and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN), on the other hand, are expected to post marginal earnings growth.

Some believe health care is the Holy Grail for investors in this horrible market, but I'm not so convinced.

When everyone jumps on a bandwagon, I usually like to jump off. It seems like everyone is preaching the merits of owning health care stocks. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Even the barber is touting this sector as a place to be during this recession and beyond. We shall see about that.

Instead of focusing on the space, how about looking at a specific name?

Consumer health care companies are traditionally great recession plays, because no matter what happens in the economy, people still need their medicine.

For more than 100 years, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has supplied the world with what it needs to ameliorate its ailments.

In addition to marquee consumer brands such as Band-Aid and Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson provides the world with a myriad of prescription drugs, medical devices and medical treatments that keep us all healthy.

The healing power -- and the earnings power -- of Johnson & Johnson's products has contributed to the well-being of both consumers and investors for a very long time.

And while shareholders may justifiably feel ill about the stock over the last several months, the company's long-term growth prospects will likely serve as a veritable love potion for investors in the years to come.

Take a look at all ten stocks to fall in love with again.

Jim Woods is a Senior Editor for OptionsZone.com.

Humana (NYSE: HUM) reported earnings below analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter of 2008, spurring a quick sell-off of more than 3%.

The stock quickly recovered, due in part to the better-than-expected ISM report, and closed up almost 6% at $40.13.

Humana is one of the nations' largest providers of employer-based health care plans. Humana offers group health and dental plans for individuals and serves the health care needs of military families and seniors through a series of specialized plans.

The fourth-quarter earnings report disappointed analysts initially, as the report revealed a larger-than-expected decline in earnings of 28% from the previous year's fourth quarter.

"You can invest for all the right reasons and still get the wrong result," notes long-standing turnaround stock expert George Putnam, referring to the poor performance of the pharmaceutical sector in recent years.

Here, in his industry-leading The Turnaround Letter, he offers a fascinating review of 10 leading drug stocks which he now believes offer a combination of growth potential at "pretty cheap" valuations. Here is his overview.

"In 2000 and 2001, when the Internet boom was becoming a bust, many smart investors turned away from technology stocks and put their money into drug stocks. How could you go wrong with the big pharmaceutical companies?

"Demand for their products was growing as the population aged. These companies had huge research
and development programs that seemed to keep cranking out new blockbuster drugs. And most of them had great balance sheets, with many paying handsome dividends.

"Much of this reasoning has been borne out in the intervening years. Many large drug manufacturers have rung up substantial revenue gains over the last decade. So what's happened to the big drug stocks? With few exceptions they have gone sideways or down – in some cases down a lot.

Two leading advisors with noted expertise in the biotech sector have both been long-term fans of Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG), both holding the stock in their respective model portfolios.

Here, Nate Pile, editor of Nate's Notes, and John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter, each take a look at the encouraging prospects for this biotechnology firm.

Nate Pile explains, "Now that the Pharmion merger is behind us, it appears that investors are once again
recognizing Celgene for what it is – namely, one of the premier stories in the biopharmaceutical space.

"As I have said a number of times before, if I could only own one biotech stock for the next ten years, Celgene would be it... and I encourage you to make it a 'first choice' for your portfolio as well!

"The stock is likely to exhibit its usual volatility around the company's upcoming earnings report, but I encourage you to take advantage of any sell-off that may occur to aggressively add to your position in this market leader. CELG is now considered a strong buy under $60 and a buy under $68."

John McCamant states, "Celgene had some good news of late on the thalidomide front. The company has received approval of the application to expand the drug's label to treat newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients in Australia.