Johnson & Johnson Rises 1% After Topping Estimates, Raising Guidance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson

were higher on Tuesday after the pharmaceutical giant beat third-quarter Wall Street earnings estimates and lifted its full-year guidance. Heading into the last hour of trade, the shares had risen around one percent to $69.33. Alex Gorsky, chief executive officer of the company said, "Our third-quarter results reflected continued sales momentum driven by strong growth of key products, successful new product launches, and the addition of Synthes to our family of companies." Net earnings in the period were $2.97 billion or $1.05 per share, compared to $3.20 billion or $1.15 per share, in the year ago period. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were $1.25 compared to $1.24 in last year's corresponding quarter. This exceeded Wall Street analysts' consensus EPS estimates of $1.21. Sales to customers were $17.1 billion for the third-quarter, a 6.5 percent increase over the $16 billion the company reported last year. This also beat analysts' consensus revenue expectations of $16.95 billion. Johnson & Johnson also raised its full-year earnings per share view to a range of $5.05 to $5.10. This compares to current estimates which call for full-year EPS of $5.06.