Schering-Plough (SGP) is trading higher for a third straight session. At $16.80, the stock is up about 4%, and three points higher from its intraday Wednesday lows before the massive cost-cutting plan was announced.
The latest daily prescription data showed a 9% drop in total prescriptions and 16% decline in new prescriptions in the U.S. over the past week, but nothing like the free fall suggested when the stock was trading under $14.
And remember, this is just a decline in the U.S. cholesterol business, as Schering CEO Fred Hassan reminded me when I interviewed him on television last night. Vytorin continues to sell well overseas; not to mention the company's other $1 billion-plus products and its attractive pipeline, which was bolstered by the purchase of Organon Biosciences.
So while I'm still restricted from trading Schering-Plough today, I continue to believe the stock is attractive to accumulate at current levels.
Regards,
Jim Cramer
DISCLOSURE: At the time of publication, Cramer was long SGP.
Send email to james.cramer@thestreet.com.