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

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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) closed at $139.99 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.36% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.11%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.07%.

Heading into today, shares of the world's biggest maker of health care products had gained 6.46% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's gain of 4.84% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.62% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from JNJ as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.86, down 5.58% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $20.78 billion, up 1.87% from the year-ago period.

JNJ's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.65 per share and revenue of $82.04 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +5.75% and +0.56%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for JNJ. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. JNJ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that JNJ has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.24 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.83, which means JNJ is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that JNJ currently has a PEG ratio of 2.37. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.06 at yesterday's closing price.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 55, which puts it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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