Johnson & Johnson Boosts Outlook, Thanks to Stents

Although Goldstein views the Cypher stent as "likely to provide the bulk" of J&J's growth through 2004, Michael Weinstein, a J.P. Morgan analyst, calls Cypher a "largely one-time event" and worries about long-term growth prospects for J&J's drugs.

He is concerned about competition for Procrit and for Risperdal, a schizophrenia drug, whose U.S. sales dropped 1% for the quarter to $335 million amid increased competition most notably from Bristol-Myers Squibb's(BMY Quote) Abilify. Weinstein has a neutral rating on J&J. He doesn't own shares; his firm has had an investment banking relationship with J&J within the last 12 months.

There's plenty of good news for J&J drugs, too. Worldwide sales of the narcotic pain reliever Duragesic, delivered via a skin patch, gained 42% to $424 million for the quarter compared to the same period last year; sales of the epilepsy drug Topamax advanced 37% to $253 million; and Remicade, which treats both rheumatoid arthritis and the pernicious gastrointestinal ailment Crohn's Disease, posted a 30% gain to $443 million.