Say Yo to Drugs

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If you find yourself thinking you should be calling either your broker or your pharmacist this week, that's understandable. Quite a few of the country's leading drug companies post their quarterly earnings this week.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) reports tomorrow, while Merck (NYSE: MRK), Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP), and Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) follow suit come Thursday. While the pharmaceuticals were once held as a safe haven for investors, the roof has been leaky this side of the millennium. Merck's shares have been halved from their all-time highs of four years ago. Schering-Plough trades for less than a third of its own highs. Amgen and Pfizer have fared better, but they too are trading below their Y2K highs.

It will be a busy week in general as hundreds of companies report. Online bellwether and Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) will announce its first-quarter financials on Wednesday. Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick Overstock.com (Nasdaq: OSTK) reports the following day.

Other big names like Altria Group (NYSE: MO) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) will also step up to the earnings podium. Will investors have a Coke and a smile? Will they take two drug makers and call in sick the next morning? The market's going to have plenty of reasons to move one way or the other over the next few days. Keep an eye on the winners.

If you're looking for great companies to hold through many an earnings season, take a trial of Motley Fool Hidden Gems. It's free; click here.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz figures he's due for a checkup. He does not own shares in any company mentioned in this story.