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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) closed at $176.10, marking a -1.5% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.44% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.03%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.2%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's biggest maker of health care products had gained 3.35% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 6.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.22% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Johnson & Johnson as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, Johnson & Johnson is projected to report earnings of $2.22 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.23%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $23.8 billion, down 4.03% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $10.04 per share and revenue of $95.02 billion. These totals would mark changes of +2.45% and +1.33%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Johnson & Johnson should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 has moved 0.05% lower within the past month. Johnson & Johnson is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Johnson & Johnson has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.81 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.02.

Investors should also note that JNJ has a PEG ratio of 2.97 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.05 as of yesterday's close.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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