"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.

"According to the Spectrem Group, which recently polled the country's wealthiest people, they're the most optimistic they've been in months," says Marc Lichtenfeld.

The contributing editor to Investment U explains, "Let's take a look at 3 stocks that millionaires (and aspiring ones) should pay attention to: Apple (AAPL), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Varian Medical Systems (VAR).

"And according to Fidelity, 83% of millionaires surveyed said the financial crisis did not shake their confidence in investing. And of those who said they'll invest more money in the stock market, nearly 60% of them plan to buy technology stocks. And just under half expect to acquire pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks.

The shares of health care products and pharmaceutical giant (JNJ) continue to aggravate and consternate.

JNJ, first discussed here on May 20, 2010 at a price of $55.87, formed a double-bottom last summer, after which the shares re-took the $60 level, rose to $65, only to retreat this winter to $60.

The sell/stop loss is not far away at $56, and the way JNJ has performed, some investors with long positions are probably rooting for it. I would argue that JNJ has one more chance to break through $70 this year, or the position will be closed.

From a fundamental standpoint, JNJ's revenue should increase 3% to 4% in FY2011, despite some sales erosion to generics. Meanwhile, new orthopedic and cardiovascular products should help the company's medical device unit perform adequately in 2011. A 2% to 3% revenue rise also is seen for FY2012.

Pharmaceutical company MannKind (MNKD) shares have traded considerably higher this morning, gaining 9% shortly after the opening bell and trading in the upper $8 region. It appears that the rally was sparked by news that the U.S. Federal Drug Administration would not be able to complete a review of the company's inhaled insulin Afrezza by December 29.

The FDA added that it will need roughly four more weeks to complete the review. Back in July, the FDA accepted a resubmission on Afrezza and classified it a class 2 response.

"Because major U.S. pharmaceutical companies face patent expirations on blockbuster drugs, consensus earnings expectations for the group are modest," says Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts explains, "One exception is Abbott Laboratories (ABT); Wall Street expects to increase earnings at a 10% annual rate over the next five years.

"Yet the market appears to discount that outlook, and the stock's price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG) of 1.2 is well below its peers.

"Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is an international giant, employing more than 115,000 people and operating in 60 countries," notes Gavin Graham.

The contributing analyst to Internet Wealth Builder explains, "The conservative stock is in a great business in an almost recession-proof field. Indeed, we see this an opportunity to buy a world-class stock at a reasonable price.

"It is a major provider of prescription drugs, including Remicade for arthritis and Procrit for red blood cell production.

Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer (PFE) announced third-quarter earnings this morning, reporting that large charges pulled its profit 70% lower than a year ago. The pfunnily spelled pfarmaceutical pfirm reported that net income came in at $866 million, or 11 cents per share, down from $2.88 billion, or 43 cents per share, a year ago.

Taking one-time items out of the equation, Pfizer earned $4.37 billion, or 54 cents per share, topping the consensus estimate by three cents.

"Among our latest buy recommendations -- based on the value investing strategy of Ben Graham -- we like Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA)," says J. Royden Ward.

The editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "Gilead is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets therapeutic treatments to combat viral, bacterial and fungal infections. Its shares undervalued at 9.7 times forward 12-month EPS.

"Teva, based in Israel, develops, makes and sells generic and proprietary-branded (store brand) drugs. Its shares are clearly undervalued at 10.6 times forward EPS. We consider both stocks to be very low risk.

"Foreign corporations have been on a mini buying spree in 2010. Not surprising, merger and acquisition activity has heated up a bit in the drug sector," says Chuck Carlson, editor of The DRIP Investor.

The dividend expert explains, " Global merger and acquisition activity topped $1 trillion in the first half of 2010, a 9.4% increase over the previous year. And Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), recommend stock in our Editor's Portfolio, has been one of the more active participants.

Early Friday morning, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and AstraZeneca (AZN) announced the results of their randomized, double-blind Phase 3 clinical study in adults with type 2 diabetes that is inadequately controlled with metformin therapy. The study showed that dapagliflozin was non-inferior compared to glipizide (sulphonylurea) and improved glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c).

In addition to these results, the study also showed that dapagliflozin plus metformin brought about "significant reductions in efficacy secondary endpoints: reduction in total body weight from baseline, compared with a weight gain on glipizide plus metformin therapy, and a reduced number of patients reporting one or more hypoglycemic events."

There are lots of analysts out there who say that, over the long term, stocks in the pharmaceutical sector should do well. For the most part, they are talking about cash rich pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer (PFE), McKesson (MCK), Medtronic (MDT) and Forest Laboratories (FRX) according to Gene Marcial of our sister site, DailyFinance.

But there are other, less obvious ways, to play growth in the pharmaceutical industry as well. Hilary Kramer, editor of GameChangerStocks.com, recently recommended two stocks that are "under the radar" and could do very well in the near future.

"For years the health care sector had a well-deserved reputation for consistent returns and profitability regardless of broader economic conditions," observes Elliott Gue.

The contributing editor to Personal Finance explains, "But the past two years have challenged this reputation, and these stocks are out of favor. Some favorites, such as Novartis (NVS) are trading at their most attractive valuation in years.

"Although the sector faces undeniable challenges, markets often overreact to new regulation, providing attractive entry points for savvy investors and a low bar of expectations.

"New products are the life-blood of any pharmaceutical company. Unfortunately, blockbuster drug breakthroughs have been fairly rare in recent years, lowering valuations for pharmaceutical stocks," says Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor, which focuses on dividend reinvestment strategies, explains, "The good news is that the lone drug stock in the Editor's Portfolio, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), has had a spate of good news recently on the drug-development front.

"The company recently announced that a mid-stage trial of an experimental arthritis drug had met its goal, supporting further development of the drug.

"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.

"Since 2001, I've avoided big-name stocks because I thought they were too expensive. But now, for the first time in my career, I'm finding value in some big U.S. stocks... particularly in one sector: pharmaceuticals," says Dr. Steve Sjuggerud.

The editor of Daily Wealth explains, "Big drug companies are record cheap, investors have given up on them, and we might be seeing a glimmer of an uptrend. Below, we consider the case of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

"The share price is in the $50s today, like it was at its highs in 1999. But since then, the business has grown dramatically. Now, you get a whole lot more business for your investment buck.