J&J raises profit forecast amid COVID-19 vaccine sales

Johnson & Johnson raised its 2021 profit forecast after sales for its COVID-19 vaccine, a cancer treatment and other drugs helped the company soar above Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings predictions.

The company said it now expects its adjusted earnings for 2021 to fall between $9.22 and $9.82 per share, according to The Associated Press.

The pharmaceutical company also narrowed its forecast for operational sales, which does not take the impact of currency exchange rates, to between $92.8 billion and $93.3 billion, including vaccine sales.

Analysts predict that the company will see an average of $9.71 in earnings per share with a total of $94.36 billion in sales, the AP reported, citing FactSet.

Overall, the company saw its net income rise by 3 percent to $3.67 billion last quarter, according to the AP. Adjusted earnings were $2.60 per share, and sales skyrocketed by almost 11 percent to $23.34 billion.

Johnson & Johnson revealed Tuesday that sales of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine increased in the third quarter, eclipsing the funds it earned in the first half of the year by almost two-fold, according to the AP.

The company said it brought in $502 million in sales from the jab last quarter, after raking in $264 million from the shot in the first half of the year.

Johnson & Johnson, however, said that it does not intend to turn a profit on the COVID-19 vaccine since the shot is on the market for between $5 and $8 a dose, the AP noted.

The company is also boosting its forecast for the year following high sales of its drug Darzalex, a treatment for multiple myeloma, which saw a 44 percent increase in sales globally in the third quarter to $1.58 billion, according to the news wire.

The increase in sales for Darzalex helped lift the company’s pharmaceuticals revenue by roughly 14 percent to almost $13 billion.

Johnson & Johnson also reported that it saw increased sales in its medical device segment, which increased 8 percent to $6.64 billion. Additionally, the company said consumer health revenue increased by 5 percent to $3.7 billion.

The company’s adjusted forecast also comes after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee voted on Friday to recommend authorization for a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, 19 to zero.

The second shot would be administered as early as two months after the initial shot is administered to anyone over the age of 18.

The FDA is now tasked with deciding if the second shot should be authorized, then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will determine who is eligible.