Gmul Sahar today affirmed a market-risk Buy rating for Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:TEVA) (TEVA) - Get Report and reiterated a 12-month price target at $79, some 33% above the stock's current level.

Analysts Gil Beeri and Galit Sideman see no reason for Teva's dip since releasing its quarterly results. They recommend taking advantage of the dip to buy.

Teva's Q3 results indicate business as usual, they say. It began to sell nabumetone, the generic equivalent of SmithKline's Relafen. Sales of multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone continued to grow, new drugs were launched and prices of veteran drugs continued to erode.

Third-quarter operating and net profit met Gmul Sahar's forecasts, Beeri and Sideman wrote. But revenues were slightly disappointing because of a dip in North American generics sales. Though revenues were up 12% from the same quarter last year, they were down 1.5% from the previous quarter and were 8% lower than Beeri and Sideman's original forecast.

Most of the North American erosion was in Canada, for two reasons: Teva has several generics in the pipeline awaiting approval, resulting in a shortage of new products there. Also, Teva discontinued marketing unprofitable drugs in Canada.

Ultimately the analysts relate little weight to Teva's Canadian travails, which are temporary. Beeri and Sideman expect Teva's fiscal 2002 financials to be more affected by Copaxone's launch in certain European countries, and by the acquisition of the injectables unit of the Australian company FH Faulding, expected in early 2002.