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After spending the last several months at a four-star rank, enough top-performing CAPS members have turned bullish on sanofi-aventis (NYSE:SNY) recently to upgrade it to a more formidable five stars. A total of 775 members have given their opinion on the pharmaceutical firm, with many offering analysis and commentary to explain their recent optimism.

The French drugmaker and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) prized holding has enjoyed healthy results from its current line of drugs, with plenty more potential still in its pipeline. Like competitor GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Sanofi's third quarter was strong. Sales grew 8%, including favorable exchange rate effects from the euro, while emerging-market sales rose 21%.

Sanofi's drugs Lantus, Lovenox, and Plavix, which it sells with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), performed well, helping to boost its pharmaceuticals business. And while Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) pulls in Tamiflu royalties from Roche, Sanofi, like Novartis (NYSE:NVS), enjoys increasing sales of its swine flu vaccine. It expects that vaccine strength to continue in the fourth quarter, driving the drugmaker to raise its full-year guidance.

Like successful blockbuster drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), sanofi-aventis seeks new sources of revenue to offset a series of impending patent expirations. It recently agreed to buy a French beauty company, which will boost its over-the-counter offerings. An expanded deal with biotech Regeneron Pharmaceuticals also holds a lot of promise for its pipeline. Sanofi already owns 19% of Regeneron from existing deals, which have put four compounds put into clinical trials; the company's now awaiting a fifth.

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