Robertson Stephens Reiterates Strong Buy Rating on JMED.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1999--

Robertson Stephens Managing Director and Senior Emerging Pharmaceuticals Analyst Donald B. Ellis today reiterated his Strong Buy rating on Jones Pharma {NASDAQ:JMED). Jones Pharma is a specialty pharmaceuticals company focused on manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling pharmaceutical products.

"We are reiterating our Strong Buy rating and 12-month price target of $40 on Jones Pharma," said Ellis.

"For the month of October, prescriptions of Levoxyl (up 21 percent), Tapazole (up 11 percent) and Cytomel (up 33 percent) continue to drive organic growth in the period," said Ellis. "Organic growth continues strong at 24 percent year-to-date, in our opinion."

"We estimate Jones trades at a price/earnings/growth ratio of 0.8, versus 1.0 for an index of specialty pharma companies, which we believe represents a solid buying opportunity," said Ellis.

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