Research archive for JNJ

Johnson & Johnson results for the first quarter were out yesterday and I'm pleased to say that they looked pretty good. Sales of pharma products were strong, especially for cancer drugs Darzalex (see below) and Imbruvica.

Yesterday J&J released their Q4 earnings, beating estimates on the top and bottom line. J&J has been one of our most stable holdings over the years, where the share price hasn't gone up as much as we would have liked, but during tough times it doesn't drop either. The cherry on top is that they pay a healthy dividend.

Yesterday Johnson & Johnson released third quarter results which blasted past expectations. Despite the tough conditions they managed to increase sales by 2% to $21.1bn for the quarter. Earnings per share increased 3.8% to $2.20 and guidance for the full year sales increased by $1bn.

We keep a close eye on the recommended holdings in Vestact portfolios. Last week Johnson & Johnson announced a transaction to buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq-listed with the share code MNTA) for about $6.5 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.

Yesterday Johnson and Johnson released their Q1 numbers before the US market opened. The stock finished yesterday 4.5% higher. The first number that you need to know is that they increased their dividend by 6.5%. In the current environment where some companies are suspending their dividend, J&J is increasing theirs. This shows the strength of their balance sheet, and it is a very strong signal from management about their expectations for the future of the company.

What about buying pharmaceutical stocks at a time like this? In the middle of a global pandemic of such major proportions, big money is being thrown at Covid-19 diagnostics, treatment, vaccines and immunity enhancers.

The medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer goods giant Johnson and Johnson (J&J), reported a mixed set of fourth-quarter numbers after a tough year on the litigation front. The company's profit beat expectations thanks to the resilience of the pharma business, good growth in medical devices, and improved profitability in the consumer business. However the numbers are a little light on the revenue front.

Two weeks ago Johnson and Johnson announced that an FDA test had found a very minute trace (0.0002%) of asbestos in a batch of baby powder. The J&J share price dropped over 6%, wiping billions off of their market cap. Not to mention the repetitional damage and the costs involved in recalling the 'contaminated' batch. Last night, near the close of trading J&J announced that the FDA had done further tests, along with a plethora of tests done by two other independent labs, and all the tests showed zero asbestos. So why did the original test show something different? J&J explains below.

This is the second day in a row that I'm writing in this newsletter about our favourite pharmaceutical and healthcare products holding Johnson & Johnson. Yesterday it was about the (mostly) ridiculous lawsuits that they face, and today it's about their third quarter results.

Product-liability lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies in the US are a terrible scourge. Fuelled by idiot juries awarding gargantuan punitive awards and contingency lawyers chasing big paydays, the number of plaintiffs keeps rising.

Last night a judge ruled against Johnson & Johnson versus the State in a case involving opioids. The state claimed that JNJ's false advertising helped fuel the country's opioid epidemic. The fine was for $572 million. This was far less than the market was expecting and the share price actually jumped 4% on the news.

Yesterday Paul wrote about JP Morgan, pointing out that it has been a bit of a boring investment lately. Today, I'm covering Johnson and Johnson (J&J), which is another slightly boring company. The reason that the organisation doesn't often produce fireworks is because it is very large, and effectively three companies in one. It is great for diversification but gains in one division can be offset by losses in another. J&J has a market value of $350 billion and generates revenues of $20.6 billion a quarter, and $5.6 billion in profits.

On Monday Johnson & Johnson reported earnings for their first quarter of the year. Sales were flat, sitting at around $20 billion whilst adjusted earnings advanced by 2% to $2.10 per share.

We often talk about Stryker as a consolidator in the Medical Devices arena. But let's not forget that Johnson & Johnson has a $27bn per annum medical devices behemoth that is, in fact, twice the size of Stryker. Stryker has annual sales of $13.6bn.

In the US, spending to treat all orthopaedic problems including pain in the muscles, bones and joints represents about 15 percent of overall healthcare outlay for those with medical insurance.