Healthcare Business
Johnson & Johnson Barely Pulls Through on Strong Pharma Sales
January 20, 2015 8:30 am
Last Updated: January 20, 2015 8:33 am
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported its fourth-quarter results Tuesday before the market open as $1.27 in earnings per share (EPS) on $18.6 billion in revenue. That was against Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $1.26 in EPS and revenue of $18.55 billion. In the fourth quarter of the previous year, the company posted EPS of $1.24 and $18.36 billion in revenue.Source: Wikimedia Commons
The company gave guidance for 2015 EPS in the range of $6.12 to $6.27. The consensus estimate for 2015 earnings per share is $6.13.
Worldwide sales for the 2014 full-year were up 4.2% to $74.3 billion. Contributing to this were worldwide consumer sales of $14.5 billion, down 1.4%, and worldwide pharmaceutical sales of $32.3 billion, up 14.9%. Worldwide Medical Devices sales were $27.5 billion, which was a decrease from the previous year of 3.4%.
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The strong drug sales results were driven by new products, along with the solid core products. New products that played a role in this growth were:
Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO, said:
2014 was a strong year for Johnson & Johnson, as we delivered solid financial results while continuing to make investments to accelerate growth for the long term. We have built significant momentum in our Pharmaceutical business, are realizing the benefits of innovation, scale and breadth in our Medical Devices business and are continuing our market leadership with iconic brands in our Consumer business.
24/7 Wall St. includes recent analyst calls and rating for your consideration:
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Shares of Johnson & Johnson closed Friday up 1.5% at $104.04. Following the release of the earnings report, the initial response in the premarket was negative and shares were down 1% at $103.10.
The company’s stock has a consensus analyst price target of $109.07 and a 52-week trading range of $86.09 to $109.49. The market cap is about $291 billion.
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