Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $146.77, moving -0.36% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.2% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.13%.

JNJ will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.45, down 43.8% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $17.33 billion, down 15.73% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.68 per share and revenue of $79.48 billion. These totals would mark changes of -11.52% and -3.14%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for JNJ. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. JNJ is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.

In terms of valuation, JNJ is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.19. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.24, which means JNJ is trading at a premium to the group.

Also, we should mention that JNJ has a PEG ratio of 3.2. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.04 at yesterday's closing price.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 17, putting it in the top 7% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - free report >>

Published in