Buying Opportunity: TEVA Pharmaceutical

Teva Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: TEVA), the No. 1 generic-drug maker, takes advantage of governments', insurers', and employers' desire to rein in some of the rising costs of health care by offering cheaper alternatives to many prescription drugs. It also takes advantage of another opportunity, which I'll get to in a moment.

Biz Facts about TEVA
Market capitalization
$48.8 billion

Industry
Pharmaceuticals

Revenue (TTM)
$14.8 billion

Earnings (TTM)
$2.5 billion

Dividend yield
1.4%

No. of generic drugs, end of 2009
>400 in U.S., with >200 awaiting approval

>150 in EU, with >240 awaiting approval

With the large number of generic drugs it sells in the U.S., Teva filled some 599 million prescriptions last year, roughly 22% of the generic prescriptions written. I expect that number and market share to grow as Teva continues to acquire smaller players -- it wrapped up Barr Pharmaceuticals last year -- and as more big-selling drugs come off patent.