Due to its diversified business mix, Abbott has been one of the better investment stories in the tough pharmaceutical sector in recent years. Abbott shares, however, have fallen 17% this year, to 44. A key issue is Wall Street's fears about the slowing growth of Abbott's top drug, Humira, which is used to treat auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Humira generates nearly 20% of Abbott's $30 billion in annual sales and accounts for most of its revenue growth. But Humira isn't fading. Sales of the drug could rise 20% this year and 15% or more in 2010. Unlike many drug stocks, Abbott still is a growth story, with profits expected to rise 11% this year to $3.69 a share and another 11% to $4.10 a share in 2010. Abbott looks reasonable at 11 times next year's projected profits. Morgan Stanley drug analyst David Lewis sees the stock hitting $55 within a year.

As a classic defensive stock, AT&T (T) has lagged in the market rally along with rival Verizon Communications (VZ). For both companies, the story has been growth in wireless revenue and profits offset by erosion in their formerly core wire-line phone operations. Wall Street worries about a saturated wireless market and continued wire-line losses as consumers "cut the cord." There were signs in the second quarter that wire-line losses may be moderating while AT&T benefits from its exclusive relationship with Apple's iPhone. Valuation is low. The stock, at 25, trades for 12 times projected 2009 profits of $2.08 a share, but earnings are penalized by about 40 cents for non-cash goodwill amortization from acquisitions. AT&T's P/E based on its "cash" earnings, excluding the goodwill impact, is just 10, and the stock yields 6.4%. The dividend looks secure. Morgan Stanley telecom analyst Simon Flannery carries a price target of 32.

Warren Buffett's company is emerging from the economic downturn in good shape, thanks to ample earnings from its large insurance and utility operations. Some of Buffett's smart investment moves in the past year, including the purchase of $8 billion of Goldman Sachs and General Electric preferred stock yielding 10%, are producing higher investment income. The Class A shares, at $102,000, appear reasonable, trading for about 1.3 times our estimate of the company's current book value of $79,000 a share. Book stood at just under $74,000 on June 30, and has risen since then as stock and bond markets have climbed. Given that many of its wholly owned business are linked to the housing market, Berkshire should get a nice profit boost in a recovery. Berkshire shares could hit $125,000 in a year.

The country's largest cable TV operator has seen is shares fall 11% this year, badly trailing its closest peer, Time Warner Cable (TWC), whose stock is up 26%. This hasn't helped management's standing on Wall Street. Despite competition from the Bells, Comcast (CMCSA) is holding its own and seeing moderate revenue growth. Comcast now is valued at 14 times projected 2009 profits of $1.10 a share -- a figure that could go higher, since first-half earnings were 60 cents. Capital spending is down, and free cash flow is up. A more shareholder-friendly Comcast sports a dividend yield of nearly 2% and is starting to buy back stock. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett sees the stock, now 15, hitting 20 in a year.

The oil giant is the industry's clear leader, with the highest returns, strongest balance sheet, best management and most stable earnings among the "super majors." Exxon shares normally command a sizable premium to those of such peers as Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A) and BP (BP), but that gap has shrunk this year as Exxon shares have fallen 14%. Exxon doesn't look cheap, trading for 18 times projected 2009 profits of about $4 a share. The stock, however, looks more reasonable based on 2010 earnings. The consensus calls for $6 in earnings next year, but one energy maven tells Barron's that profits could hit $7 merely if futures-market expectations for energy prices pan out. A forward P/E of 10 isn't bad for one of the world's best-run big companies.

Despite fears about a threat from Google (GOOG), Microsoft dominates the desktop, and its Windows 7 operating system, set to hit the market in a few months, is getting good pre-release buzz. While earnings declined in its fiscal year ending in June, Microsoft is a financial powerhouse with enormous free cash flow. The stock, up 22% this year to 24, trades for a moderate 14 times projected fiscal 2010 profits of $1.68 a share. Those earnings have been depressed by low yields on the company's large cash holdings of $31 billion and losses on its online business, including MSN, that should benefit from the new Yahoo! partnership. Cost-control has never been a priority at Microsoft, giving the company a lot of room to trim expenses. Research and development, for instance, totaled $9 billion last year. The stock could top 30 in the next year.

The Exxon of the food industry has the largest market value, highest sales and one of the best growth outlooks, due in part to long-standing positions in the developing world. Nestlé's U.S.-listed shares (NSRGY), which trade on the pink sheets because the company doesn't care for a Big Board listing, fetch around 39, or 14 times this year's estimated profits of $2.76 a share. The effective P/E on Nestle's core food business is about 13 because the company owns valuable stakes in richly valued Alcon Laboratories (ACL), a large provider of eye-care products, and France's l'Oréal (OR.France), the cosmetics concern. Tough conditions in bottled water dampened Nestlé's first-half organic sales, which rose 3%, about a percentage point less than what analysts expected. That disappointment doesn't dim the Swiss company's robust outlook. Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood calls Nestlé "the strongest and most balanced company" among its European food peers. Wood carries a $48 target on the U.S-listed shares.

Like most of the major drug companies, Novartis has a low P/E, with its U.S.-listed shares (NVS) trading for around 12 times this year's estimated earnings. Unlike many of its peers, Novartis has a strong pipeline of new drugs that should allow the company to sail through a series of patent expirations on key drugs in 2011 and 2012, as Barrons.com noted recently in a bullish write-up on the company. Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson ranks the major drug companies by projected growth in earnings and revenue between now and 2015 -- and Novartis is at or near the top of his lists. He projects more than $5 of earnings in 2015. Novartis shares, at around 45, carry a nice dividend yield of 3.8%.