Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) could become the third company to release a coronavirus vaccine in the United States.
The Johnson & Johnson; or J&J shot, is one of two COVID-19 vaccines the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) could approve for the US in February or March, Politico speculates. The results of J&J’s late stage US trial could be available in late January, which can make FDA approval more probable, Moncef Slaoui says. Slaoui heads the federal government’s coronavirus vaccine development program, Operation Warp Speed.
If claims about it are true, Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine could be superior to Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) products. To explain, they need to store the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines at very low temperatures.
In fact, news articles claim you not store the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in normal refrigerators and freezers. For instance, you need to store the Moderna vaccine at temperatures between -25 degrees and -15 degrees Celsius (-13 and 5 Fahrenheit). Thus, healthcare providers need a special freezer is to store the Moderna vaccine.
Is the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine better?
In contrast, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) claims you can store its COVID-19 vaccine at 35 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit (1.66 to 7.77 degrees Celsius) for three months. Thus you could store the J&J vaccine in a regular kitchen refrigerator.
Moreover, Johnson & Johnson claims you could store its coronavirus vaccine for three years at -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 Celsius). Thus, it could be possible to store the J&J vaccine in a regular deep freeze. An obvious advantage to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that healthcare providers will not need to buy special storage units for it.
The J&J vaccine is more stable because they made it with the proven adenovirus technique. An adenovirus vaccine is a harmless cold virus that carries a coronavirus gene into human cells.
The hope is the gene will cause the cells to produce a coronavirus spike protein. The spike protein can prime the immune system to fight the coronavirus.
Another advantage is that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could offer COVID-19 immunity with one shot. The Moderna & Pfizer vaccines require two shots.
In contrast, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use the new RNA messenger tactic to create an immune response. Thus, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is theoretically a better product.
How Much Vaccine can Johnson & Johnson produce?
Unfortunately, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) could have trouble producing sufficient amounts of its vaccine.
Politico claims J&J’s cannot meet its vaccine delivery goals. To elaborate, Johnson & Johnson promised 12 million vaccine doses by March 2021. However, J&J is not meeting those goals. Johnson & Johnson is having so many production problems it has asked the federal government for help.
“Operation Warp Speed is working with Johnson & Johnson to scale up and maximize manufacturing of the Janssen vaccine,” the US Department of Health & Human Services promises. Operation Warp Speed is the federal government’s vaccine production effort.
Under Operation Warp Speed, the Health & Human Services will pay $1 billion for vaccine research and pay for vaccines for all 331 million residents of the United States. Johnson & Johnson could make enormous amounts of money by selling its vaccine to the US and other governments.
Will the Vaccine Help Johnson & Johnson
Predictably, Johnson & Johnson’s share price rose from $156.40 on 4 January 2021 to $160.65 on 14 January 2021 to $162.78 on 19 January 2020. Therefore, Mr. Market loves the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Over the past year, Johnson & Johnson’s share price rose from $148.21 on 16 January 2020 to $160.30 on 15 January 2021. Thus, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has profited from coronavirus.
J&J made more money in 2020. For instance, Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenues rose from $20.747 billion on 31 December 2019 to $21.082 billion on 30 September 2020.
How Much Money does Johnson & Johnson Make?
Moreover, J&J’s quarterly gross profit rose from $13.613 billion on 31 December 2019 to $14.110 billion on 30 September 2020. Plus, the quarterly operating income rose from $4.218 billion on 31 December 2019 to $4.401 billion on 30 September 2020.
Notably, Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly operating cash flow rose from $6.398 billion on 31 December 2019 to $8.383 billion on 30 September 2020. Plus, the quarterly ending cash flow rose from $1.056 billion on 31 December 2019 to $7.791 billion on 30 September 2020.
Conversely, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) borrowed much of that money. Notably, J&J reported a quarterly financing cash flow of $4.196 billion on 30 September 2020. The quarterly financing cash flow rose from -$357 million on 30 June 2020 and -$4.315 billion on 31 March 2020.
In 2020, Johnson & Johnson’s long-term debt grew from $26.494 billion on 31 December 2019 to $32.68 billion on 30 September 2020. Therefore, Johnson has more debt.
What value does Johnson & Johnson have?
Johnson & Johnson’s value grew dramatically in 2020. For instance, J&J’s total assets grew from $157.728 billion on 31 December 2019 to $170.693 billion on 30 September 2020.
In addition, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has more cash. J&J’s cash and short-term investments rose from $19.287 billion on 31 December 2019 to $30.781 billion on 30 September 2020.
I think Johnson & Johnson is an excellent value and growth investment because its cash, revenues, and assets grew without a COVID-19 vaccine. Hence, I think J&J’s growth could increase without a coronavirus vaccine. Plus, I think Mr. Market fairly priced Johnson & Johnson at $160.20 on 15 January 2021.
Johnson & Johnson is a tremendous dividend stock
Additionally, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a tremendous dividend stock. For instance, J&J will pay a $1.01 quarterly dividend on 9 March 2020. In 2020, that dividend grew from 95₵ on 24 February.
Overall, Johnson & Johnson paid an annualized dividend of $4.04 and a dividend yield of 2.51% on 15 January 2021. Thus, I consider Johnson & Johnson a terrific dividend and income stock.
If you are seeking a COVID-19 vaccine stock, J&J could be a brilliant choice. It makes money, grows, gains value, and pays a great dividend without a COVID-19 vaccine. I predict Johnson & Johnson will gain value in 2021, with or without a vaccine.
Originally published at https://marketmadhouse.com on January 19, 2021.
