Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Slightly Declined in Premarket Trading Session

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), a company that researches and develops, manufactures, and sells a range of products in the health care field, has declined 0.13% in the premarket trading session. Consequently, JNJ stock is trading at $172.09 at the time of the writing. On Thursday, JNJ closed the day at $172.31 after a slight increase of 0.44% during the mid-day session. The last release from the company was regarding the efficiency of its vaccine against the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

JNJ Announced Vaccine Efficiency Results

On Thursday, JNJ announced the preliminary results from the South African Phase 3b Sisonke study. The results showed that a homogeneous booster shot of the company’s vaccine showed an efficiency of 85% against the COVID-19 hospitalization rate. The study was conducted by the South African Medical Research Council and depicted that the booster shot of Johnson & Johnson reduced the risk of getting hospitalized among the healthcare professionals due to COVID-19 after the Omicron started dominating the South African region.  

Q3 2021 Operational Results

On 19th October, JNJ released the operational results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2021. The company generated sales of $23.3 billion during the quarter against $21.08 billion for the same quarter of 2020. The gross profit for the period was $16.08 billion against $14.11 billion for the same period of 2020. The net earnings generated by the company during the quarter were $3.66 billion (or $1.37 per diluted share) against $3.55 billion (or $1.33 per diluted share) for the same quarter of 2020.

9MFY2021 Operational Results

Alongside the quarterly results, JNJ also released the operational results for the nine-month period of the fiscal year 2021. The sales for the period were $68.97 billion against $60.1 billion for the same period of 2020. The gross profit for the nine-month period was $47.07 billion against $39.49 billion for the same nine-month period of 2020. The net earnings for the period were $16.14 billion (or $6.04 per diluted share) against $12.97 billion (or $4.86 per diluted share) for the same period of 2020.

Executive Commentary

Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JNJ, while commenting on the results said that the quarterly results demonstrate the solid performance by the company which is driven by robust above-market results in Pharmaceuticals and growth in consumer health. The company has continued to demonstrate the responsiveness and agility required to meet the needs of its stakeholders.

Future Outlook for JNJ

During the last month, JNJ stock has increased by approximately 10%, partially owing to the efficient results shown by the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. Analysts believe that the advancements of the company are the epitome of its calibre and that it is expected to attract potential investors for long-term investments.