Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Pfizer, St. Jude Medical, Inc. and eBay Inc.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), Sanofi (NYSE: SNY), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Bristol a Good Buyout Candidate

Growth of mega-blockbuster Plavix is helping Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) drive EPS growth up near 16% in 2008. Patent expirations loom very large in Bristol's future starting in 2011 when the Plavix patent expires.

That being said, the company does have an attractive mid-to-late-stage pipeline, and the company has been dramatically working to reduce costs and shed less profitable and non-core businesses. We believe the company is an attractive take-over candidate at this level for a larger pharma name such as Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) or Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). EPS growth rate is near the top of bigpharma. We expect the shares to trade up near $27.

St. Jude Medical Trends Favorable

Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) was founded in 1976 and designs, manufactures and distributes medical devices to treat cardiovascular and neurological conditions. The company employs approximately 12,000 employees. In 2007, the company had net sales of $3.8 billion. In first quarter 2008, 53% of the company's revenue came from the domestic market with 47% outside the U.S.

We look for global demographic trends -- aging populations in developed nations and the rapid urbanization of developing countries to fuel long-term growth in this stock. These trends both give rise to growing demand for cardiovascular health care.

Hold EBAY Ahead of Earnings

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the world's largest online trading community. The company provides niche online services that generated $7.6 billion in sales in 2007.

We are leaving our fourth quarter estimate at $0.38, but we are lowering our estimates for 2009. We now expect eBay to earn $1.68 in 2008 and $1.56 in 2009. While the stock is trading at less than 10x our 2009 EPS estimate, we are not recommending investors buy shares at this time. That's because growth eBay's core business continues to slow, as macro headwinds and competitive pressures continue to weigh on the company's gross merchandise volume.

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