Topic: How To Invest

Dear Patrick: Can you please let me know your thoughts on Johnson & Johnson? Regards.

Article Excerpt

Johnson & Johnson, $64.15, symbol JNJ on New York (Shares outstanding: 2.8 billion; Market cap: $178.9 billion; www.jnj.com), has three business segments: Consumer (including baby care, skin care, oral care and wound care; 23% of revenue, 14% of operating earnings), Pharmaceutical (including anti-infective, antipsychotic, contraceptive, dermatology and gastrointestinal; 38% of revenue, 47% of operating earnings), and Medical Devices & Diagnostics (including electrophysiology, circulatory disease management and orthopedic joint reconstruction; 40% of revenue, 39% of operating earnings). Consumer products are the most stable part of Johnson & Johnson’s business. However, a number of these products have been recalled lately. To regain the trust of its customers, the company has been forced to upgrade its facilities and implement new testing procedures. Johnson & Johnson’s drug pipeline has been a major weak point in recent years, but the company has turned this around: it has received approval for three new drugs in recent months: marketing approval in the U.S. for a prostate cancer pill called…