Johnson & Johnson’s stock JNJ rose 1.4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the consumer health and pharma company beat consensus estimates for its first quarter and raised its full-year guidance. The company had a loss of $68 million, or 3 cents a share, for the quarter, after income of $5.149 billion, or $1.93 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding a one-time litigation charge and an intangible asset amortization expense, the company’s adjusted EPS came to $2.68, ahead of the $2.50 FactSet consensus. Sales rose 5.6% to $24.746 billion from $23.426 billion a year ago, also ahead of the $23.599 billion FactSet consensus. The company is now expecting its full-year sales to range from $97.9 billion to $98.9 billion, up from January guidance of $96.9 billion to $97.9 billion. It expects adjusted EPS will range from $10.60 to $10.70 versus January guidance of $10.45 to $10.65. The stock has fallen 6.2% in the year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has gained 2.5%.
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