Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Rises, CFO Talks M&A
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Get Report are climbing 1.75% to $125.27 in afternoon trading today as the New Brunswick, NJ-based medical and pharmaceutical manufacturer's CFO Dominic Caruso says the company is considering mergers, Bloomberg reports.
Earlier today, J&J posted better-than-expected 2016 second quarter earnings before the market open.
Caruso noted that he's "agnostic" about the size of any possible deals, but that he'd prefer licensing agreements relative to the pharmaceutical division, according to Bloomberg.
Johnson & Johnson is now looking at ways to help fill gaps the company has in the market, such as by creating a new "therapeutic focus," Caruso said.
For the quarter, Johnson & Johnson reported adjusted earnings of $1.74 per share on revenue of $18.5 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.67 per share on revenue of $17.9 billion.
Earnings were up 1.8% from 2015, while revenue grew 3.9% year over year.
Still, baby care sales slumped to $104 million in the second quarter compared to $106 million in the 2015 second quarter.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:
We rate JOHNSON & JOHNSON as a Buy with a ratings score of A. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and expanding profit margins. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: JNJ
data by