| BUY | 65.120 | David Baskin | Likes their non-prescription healthcare products business. Good P/E multiple and good dividend. | 2008-07-03 | |
| BUY | 66.760 | Duncan Stewart | If you like pharmaceuticals, consider moving into Johnson & Johnson (JNJ-N). | 2008-06-03 | |
| HOLD | 66.710 | Norman Levine | Only partly a big pharmaceutical. Also into medical devices, consumer products, cosmetic products so it is more diversified. | 2008-05-12 | |
| BUY | 67.260 | David Driscoll | (Market Call Minute.) Have been held back by the pharmaceutical side of the business but the medical devices and consumer products is good. | 2008-04-23 | |
| Comment | 67.260 | Laura Wallace | Has done a great job in anybody's portfolio. Very stable price while the market has gyrated. Has performed so well on a relative basis that there may not be a lot left. | 2008-04-23 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 66.990 | David Baskin | (A Top Pick May 8/07. Up 7%.) Now that the Cdn$ is below par, he is comfortable with the US market. Nice dividend yield and a low PE. | 2008-04-22 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 62.550 | Laura Wallace | Has the medical side as well as the consumer side. Its medical device side is facing a bit of problem and its drugs are likely to face increased scrutiny if there is a Democratic administration. Attractive in the $55-$58 range. | 2008-03-12 | |
| BUY | 62.550 | Gordon Reid | Wonderful company. Great management. Very strong balance sheet. Gives a bit of exposure in the Pharma and medical supply businesses as well as the consumer business. A good core holding. 2.65% yield. | 2008-03-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 61.330 | Norman Levine | In the near term, he would avoid this one. Expensive compared to other pharmaceutical companies. Has some major drugs coming off patents. Some big question marks regarding its stent business. If it comes off some more, it's a good long-term stock to own. | 2008-03-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | 63.720 | Norman Levine | One of the better performing drug related stocks. Part pharmaceutical, part medical devices and part consumer products. Consumer product area has done well. Stent has not been doing well. Where doing well on the drug side but have a number of drugs coming off patent in the next few years. Expensive at 15-16X 2009 earnings for a company whose growth rate is slowing down. (See his top picks for a drug stock.) | 2008-02-26 | |
| BUY | 67.320 | Charles Bobrinskoy | Very high-quality company. There are some issues around their stent business, but long-term it doesn't get much better. Trades at historically low multiple of about 15X. | 2007-12-19 | |
| BUY | 67.710 | David Baskin | Owning this gives him the buffer between the non-patent products/devices to the pharmaceuticals. Very inexpensive. | 2007-12-18 | |
| BUY | 67.700 | Gordon Reid | A very sound financial company, growing its earnings at 8% to 10% per year. Trades at about 15X earnings. 2.5% dividend yield. Pristine AAA balance sheet. A very stable holding. | 2007-12-12 | |
| BUY | 65.160 | Norman Levine | This would be a fine way of playing the healthcare area. It's a defensive company. Had a few issues with the stent market, but the rest of their operations are just great. | 2007-11-09 | |
| BUY | 64.660 | Paul Harris, CFA | Not only is this a pharmaceutical company, which he likes, it is also a medical device company as well as consumer products. Very well run, good company. Cheap. Good pipeline. | 2007-11-01 | |
| BUY | 66.250 | Ross Healey | A lot of the US big cap stocks have good international exposure. His Fair Market Value is over $125 so there is a lot of potential. The next major resistance point is $73.50. | 2007-10-05 | |
| BUY | 66.050 | Norman Levine | US pharmaceuticals are a good defensive place to be. | 2007-10-02 | |
| BUY | 61.600 | John O'Connell, CFA | US$ decline is positive for this global company. Defensive. Good international diversification. Good revenue streams. Some speculation that they may be an acquirer of Colgate-Palmolive, which could put them under pressure. | 2007-08-27 | |
| BUY | 61.630 | David Driscoll | Stock has done absolutely nothing for the last 5 to 7 years. Valuation is somewhere between $85 and $100. Acquisition of Pfizer’s (PFE-N) consumer products division has been adding good value to the company's earnings quality. A good anchor to a portfolio. | 2007-08-16 | |
| WAIT | 60.070 | Bill Carrigan | A sort of a consumer related Dow component stock. These are all getting into trouble, so wait and let this run its course. | 2007-07-30 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 61.790 | Mike Lyons CA, CFA | On his watch list. Nice diversified large cap situation. Decent dividend yield. A good mix of business. Would like to buy below $60. | 2007-07-20 | |
| Comment | 62.200 | Norman Levine | If you were long-term investor, this is a Buy. Have the premiere products. In the near term, it hasn't done very well and probably is not going anywhere, because a number of their drugs have come off patent, had some issues with drug coated stents. | 2007-07-18 | |
| BUY | 62.000 | Charles Lannon | Thinks the shares should be selling at $75.
| 2007-06-07 | |
| BUY | 62.610 | Ian Nakamoto | Pharmaceuticals are relatively defensive plays at these prices. All impacted by generic drugs. This company has very little in the way of drug exploration and generic competition. Good consumer-products division. | 2007-05-14 | |
| TOP PICK | 63.700 | David Baskin | Isn't getting much respect. Trading at about 15 X this year's earnings and probably 13.5 X next years. With the strong Cdn$, this is a great time to get into this. Nice dividend. Returning over 20% on equity. | 2007-05-08 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 64.240 | Richard Croft | (A Top Pick July 4/06. Up 6.8%.) An interesting play on demographics. A lot of litigation on drug companies. Pays a good dividend. | 2007-04-26 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 63.020 | John Manley | Analysts have target around the $72 area. Current PE is around 16. Earnings are coming out tomorrow, so hold off until these are released. Doesn't like to play them after they've had their first bounce. | 2007-04-16 | |
| BUY | 61.920 | Paul Harris, CFA | Has under performed since its high in October. Pharmaceutical industry is facing a lot of issues. Trades around 12 X earnings with a yield of about 2.3%. Very well run company. Expecting very good earnings growth. Throws up a lot of free cash flow. | 2007-04-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 60.340 | Ian Nakamoto | Has done better than the other US pharmaceuticals. The sector has not done well. This will be a tough hold because generics will give a lot of competition. | 2007-03-29 | |
| BUY | 60.250 | Gavin Graham | One of the best consumer product companies with a big medical exposure. Recent study indicated stents are no more effective than drugs, so the stock dropped. A great hedge against a weaker US economy. | 2007-03-26 | |
| TOP PICK | 60.860 | Peter Hofstra | Feels you can get a double-digit return out of this one. Good opportunities for earnings improvement. Good price. | 2007-03-22 | |
| BUY | 60.710 | David Baskin | He likes it for the health care products, more than for the pharmaceutical and medical devices. The stent business is under serious question right now. Trades at a very reasonable PE. | 2007-03-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 61.720 | Brian Acker, CA | Looking a lot better than it did, but still overvalued. His model price is $56.90. Negative 8% differential. | 2007-03-09 | |
| BUY | 61.700 | Gavin Graham | Likes this a lot. A multinational which pays a dividend. | 2007-03-06 | |
| BUY | 66.640 | Paul Harris, CFA | A great company and well run. While diversified with pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Throws off lots of free cash flow. | 2007-01-15 | |
| HOLD | 66.400 | Steve MacMillan | This is a company that will have lower return, but more stable. There is a good opportunity for a return in the future. | 2007-01-03 | |
| DON'T BUY | 66.000 | Brian Acker, CA | Model price of $57.07, a negative 14% differential. Typical of consumer staples where the market rotated into heavily this year. | 2006-12-21 | |
| BUY | 69.100 | David Baskin | Household products form a base for this company, and he sees the pharmaceuticals as an add-on. Excellent earnings. | 2006-10-23 | |
| BUY | 64.930 | John Zechner | Looks interesting. More consumer products than some of the other large pharmas. | 2006-10-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 64.660 | Brian Acker, CA | His model price is $53.22 which is a negative 17% differential. If you want a great company in your portfolio for 20/30 years, this may be the one, or if you're trying to beat the S&P 500. | 2006-08-31 | |
| BUY | 61.900 | Norman Levine | All the major drug stocks are starting to act better. In this type of market, money moves from risky stocks to defensive stocks. A good place to be. | 2006-07-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 60.620 | David Burrows | The “gold standard” in the healthcare industry. The problem is when you look at earnings growth in healthcare it is the lowest and has the lowest expectations. Would avoid this sector. | 2006-07-12 | |
| BUY | 60.770 | Norman Levine | A hybrid. Part pharmaceutical/medical devices and part consumer products. Just in the process of buying Pfizer's (PFE-N) consumers product division. Has had fabulous management. Great growth in earnings. | 2006-07-11 | |
| TOP PICK | 60.150 | Richard Croft | 2.5% dividend. Gives you US exposure if you need that. Very defensive in terms of the drug companies. Not highly leveraged. Very good product mix. A defensive holding. | 2006-07-04 | |
| BUY | 59.890 | David Driscoll | Stock gives you a split between consumer products, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals are weak because of patents coming off. Medical device sector will face higher competition. Want to use cash from the consumer products for R&D. Dividends have gone up recently. Won't give you great growth, but a good conservative holding. Only buy 1/2 a position now and add more later. | 2006-06-29 | |
| TOP PICK | 61.320 | Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc | Has gone down over the last number of years from its peak. Trading at 15 X next year's earnings. Really a closed end fund of health care business. Good long-term hold. Ultimately, the market will value it for its good cash flow. | 2006-06-23 | |
| BUY | 59.850 | David Driscoll | Gives investors good diversification in 3 pharmaceutical type products drugs, medical devices and consumer products. Nice steady growth in all three. Revenue growth has been languishing which is why the stock has not moved up. | 2006-05-25 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 58.840 | Brad Willock | (A Top Pick Feb 9/06. No change.) This was his insurance in case things got a little rocky. Still likes. | 2006-05-11 | |
| BUY | 59.350 | Paul Harris, CFA | Has suffered from a lot that is happening in the pharmaceutical area. Pharmaceutical stocks are some of the cheapest around. A good solid company and if you have a long-term approach, it's a good buy here. | 2006-03-30 | |
| WATCH | 57.650 | David Baskin | They like it because of their cardiac care, health and beauty products. They are not crazy about the patented medicine part of the company. It is nicely positioned in the market. It has had a bit of a rocky road downhill. They are reviewing it and may be getting out. | 2006-02-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 57.650 | Norman Levine | Think the worst is over for the pharmaceutical industry. J & J is also into medical devices, and consumer products. The stock had been outperforming other pharmaceutical but now the others are outperforming J & J. He likes Phiser, and Teva Pharmaceutical. | 2006-02-28 | |
| SELL | 59.050 | Brian Acker, CA | Has been mispriced. Due for a correction | 2006-02-14 | |
| TOP PICK | 58.550 | Brad Willock | Has had a rough go since last March. Trading at around 16 X earnings. Have $14 billion in cash and generate $1 billion in cash each month. Thinks it has bottomed out. | 2006-02-09 | |
| WAIT | 56.800 | Brian Acker, CA | He has a model price of $55.63 which is a negative differential of about 2%. It has to finish its downward run. He would wait until about $48.75/49 before buying. | 2006-02-07 | |
| TOP PICK | 57.860 | David Baskin | They were fighting with Boston Scientific (BSX-N) for an acquisition and lost. However, Boston Scientific has acquired a company larger than itself and will have to take on enormous debt and historically, these have turned out to be crippling deals. | 2006-02-01 | |
| BUY | 57.540 | Gavin Graham | Stock is down 9% over last year. All the big US pharmas are off a lot and this was the last one to fall. It has the best product range and does a very good job. He continues to like it. | 2006-01-31 | |
| DON'T BUY | 62.580 | David Burrows | Seening a little more strength on the pharmaceutical side. He would still prefer to go to the generics. | 2006-01-04 | |
| BUY | 60.770 | John Zechner | Finds the valuation a little bit high relative to the growth rate. A strong brand name. You can buy this and put it away for a number of years. Very low risk. | 2005-11-08 | |
| WAIT | 63.390 | Brad Willock | Sold off when it broke a technical signal in the early spring. Starting to look interesting at this price. Has a lot of free cash flow. It's only 50% pharmaceutical with the rest being consumer products. All the big pharmas are under pressure because of some hearings in the next few weeks. | 2005-08-31 | |
| BUY | 66.000 | Norman Levine | This has not been a great environment in the last few years for drug stocks, but J&J has been an exception. A diversified medical company with all kinds of businesses. Has been the best performing drug stock and thinks it will continue to be. | 2005-06-22 | |
| VAGUE | 60.900 | David Baskin | The only drug company they own and it is for the medical devices and for the consumer products rather than the pharmaceuticals. | 2004-12-16 | |
| VAGUE | 60.120 | Brad Willock | Has the best fundamentals of all the drug stocks. Drug sector has come under a number of significant pressures. | 2004-11-10 | |
| BUY | 56.510 | Peter Brieger | A great company. Feels the US$ will drop so there is a modest exchange risk. | 2004-10-13 | |
| BUY | 58.350 | Ian Nakamoto | May be considered boring, but the stability in terms of earnings is going to work well as a theme in the sector. | 2004-09-14 | |
| BUY | 58.270 | Norman Levine | Widely diversified product line and not like normal pharmaceutical companies. | 2004-09-08 | |
| TOP PICK | 55.740 | Harvey Eisen | A great business. Low valuation. | 2004-07-23 | |
| TOP PICK | 55.740 | Bob Doll | Good ballast for portfolios. Cheap valuation. | 2004-07-23 | |
| TOP PICK | 55.350 | David Driscoll | 2% yield. Didn't do much over the last year but is starting to recover with different products. On a valuation basis compared to their peers, they are at a much deeper discount. A safe investment. | 2004-07-15 | |
| TOP PICK | 54.530 | David Baskin | Pays a little over 2% dividend. A multitude of products. Terrific track record of making money. A safe place to be in uncertain times. | 2004-07-07 | |
| TOP PICK | 55.710 | Richard Bernstien | With the feds tightening and profit growths slowing, the market is going ahead for higher quality stocks. A well-run company and is not expensive. | 2004-05-28 | |
| BUY | 54.700 | Norman Levine | Likes the longer-term outlook for pharmaceuticals. Historically, they have performed relatively well when interest rates are going up. | 2004-05-17 | |
| BUY | 54.500 | Frank Cappiello | Health-care sector is the best sector to be in. Can't think of anything better than this stock. Wide range of products. | 2004-05-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 53.600 | Ian Ainsworth | Big pharmas have a problem of being too big and gets more leverage through Boston Scientific. | 2004-04-20 | |
| TOP PICK | 54.130 | Richard Bernstien | Very high-quality stock. | 2004-04-16 | |
| BUY | 51.390 | David Baskin | A great blue-chip company. A wonderful line of consumer products, some good pharmaceuticals and, making money on their coated stent. This stock will not have fast growth. | 2004-04-13 | |
| TOP PICK | 50.130 | Harvey Eisen | One of his 2 favourite areas is health care because of the demographics. You can buy at a discount to the market. | 2004-03-26 | |
| BUY | 50.880 | Peter Arender, CFA | There is competition in the stent market. The whole health-care sector is a bit of a puzzle. Has been executing very well, but money just doesn't seem to want to flow into health-care. | 2004-03-17 | |
| TOP PICK | 53.130 | Brian Rogers | One of a handful of AAA Company's out there. Great dividend history. Reasonable P/E valuation. Hasn't participated in the strong market over the course of the last year or so. | 2004-03-05 | |
| TOP PICK | 53.130 | Francois Trahan | A non cyclical stock. Pays a dividend yield in the healthcare sector. | 2004-03-05 | |
| HOLD | 50.550 | Peter Arender, CFA | They've been groeing their market share by 20% throughout the last 4 years. Trading at evaluation standards that are fantastic, looks attractive for long-term hold, Drug companies are undervalued., could see some good gains. | 2003-12-23 | |
| BUY | 49.390 | Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc | In the long term, it's a great diversified play in the healthcare sector. | 2003-12-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 49.160 | Brad Willock | Has been stuck around $50 mark. Took a big jump when they first produced a stent but they now have competition, which is taking quite a bit of market share. Could see it go a bit lower. | 2003-12-05 | |
| TOP PICK | 49.920 | Stephane Rochon | A contrarian play. Has performed very well from a financial perspective. Growth prospect is a very positive. Very good long-term value. | 2003-10-27 | |
| BUY | 49.260 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Trading at a discounted valuation. They are getting competition with their stents. At a decent valuation. Should see some upside from here. | 2003-08-27 | |
| BUY | 49.540 | Matt Barasch | Pharmaceutical stocks are defensive in nature.In this environment, nobody's buying them.Will be dead money in the short term.A good price to buy out for the long-term. | 2003-08-22 | |
| BUY | 50.030 | Ray Steele | They have a huge consumer business.The drug sector has been sluggish.Longer term this should pick up. | 2003-08-20 | |
| WEAK BUY | 51.700 | Benj Gallander | Book value is about $8 a share. Drug companies always seem to do well. | 2003-06-30 | |
| BUY | 56.040 | John Zechner | Stable growth. Valuation may be a little high, but OK. | 2003-05-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 56.040 | David Burrows | A defensive stock, so could lag a bit. | 2003-01-13 | |
| BUY | 55.270 | Paul O'Neil | Great company. Into stents now which will be a big market opportunity. | 2002-12-06 | |
| BUY | 57.950 | Peter Brieger | Well rounded in different health areas. | 2002-10-23 | |
| BUY | 59.560 | Ray Steele | | 2002-10-15 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 52.300 | Paul O'Neil | (Was a top pick on July 17. No change.) Still likes. A core holding. | 2002-09-20 | |
| DON'T BUY | 55.320 | Brad Willock | Expensive now. Good long term hold. | 2002-08-16 | |
| TOP PICK | 51.240 | Paul O'Neil | Great price. Should appreciate 15% a year. Good numbers. | 2002-07-17 | |
| BUY | 50.300 | Peter Brieger | A good long term hold. Good price. | 2002-07-10 | |
| WAIT | 52.260 | David Burrows | Benefiting from weaker US $. Wait for it to reverse its down trend. | 2002-06-28 | |
| BUY | 61.370 | Bill MacLachlan | Bullish. International.No generic drug problems. Good cash flow from a lot of coonsumer products. | 2002-05-30 | |
| DON'T BUY | 64.490 | Brad Willock | Great company, but expensive. | 2002-04-19 | |
| BUY | 58.720 | Brad Willock | Prefers this and Pfizer over Merk. | 2002-02-22 | |
Experts that have talked about Johnson & Johnson
