Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) continued lower during Wednesday’s session due to a highly publicized trial against the multinational company in the state of Oklahoma. Investors have been skittish over the lead-up to the trial and its massive implications regarding the nationwide opioid crisis, scaring them into dragging the stock down to its lowest level since January.
Johnson & Johnson is far from the opioid crisis’ most prominent culprit, as most fingers remain pointed at OxyContin producer Purdue Pharmaceuticals. However, as certainly the largest party involved at a $349 billion market cap, all eyes are on the Johnson & Johnson’s trial to see if the outcome heavily jeopardizes future profits – and subsequent returns for investors.
Here’s a deeper dive into one of the biggest trials of the year – and how it could hamper not just JNJ but the pharma sector as a whole…
The News
In a trial that started Tuesday and will continue this week, a team of lawyers led by Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter allege that Johnson & Johnson’s practice of heavily marketing dangerous opioids to doctors for them to prescribe to patients is responsible for the state’s devastating and widespread drug addiction. While the company’s opioid portfolio is far less extravagant than Purdue and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) – both of which settled with the state earlier this year – Oklahoma is primarily targeting two opioid-related businesses that Johnson & Johnson owned for years. According to the case details, these businesses produced ingredients like codeine and fentanyl that other companies used to make their painkillers.
It’s the first of roughly 2,000 similar lawsuits from several states across the country, meaning it could set a precedent in regard to whether or not drugmakers or states should be held accountable for the opioid crisis – the former for selling the drugs or the latter for ignoring what Johnson & Johnson calls the “basic facts” of the federally regulated pharma business.
Hunter’s team is invoking the public-nuisance law, which Johnson & Johnson counter-argues doesn’t apply to their opioid sales since the law is typically used for disputes over things like property and illegal dumping. The firm’s lawyers argued that, “Public nuisance is not and has never been a magic bullet for social problems allegedly traceable to the sale of goods and services.”
How Investors Reacted
As they’ve been doing for a week straight now, investors dragged shares of JNJ lower on Wednesday as the trial officially kicked off. The stock fell 4.2% from $137.07 to a four-month low of $131.33. Since last Thursday, May 23, shares of JNJ have plunged 6.1% from $139.79 as investors have been trying to get ahead of the potentially devastating lawsuit. At Wednesday’s close of $131.33, JNJ is now almost flat for the year, only eking out a small 1.8% gain from the Dec. 31 closing price of $129.05.
The Bigger Picture
While large pharma companies sold prescription painkillers and similar medications for years to the American public, the opioid crisis’s ballooning death count and catastrophic results have led both state and federal lawmakers to make sure those companies like Johnson & Johnson get their comeuppance.
Oklahoma has been considered the de facto ground zero for the opioid crisis, making it understandable as the first state to bring about a case. At the state’s crisis peak in 2009, 15.5 per 100,000 people died from opioid use, while the U.S. overall saw only 6.6 per 100,000. Far more shocking is how, from 2015 to 2018, there were 18 million opioid prescriptions written for a state population of just 3.9 million.
Now, government intervention in Big Pharma’s opioid business could have a devastating effect on companies that have made blockbuster painkilling drugs their bread and butter for decades. For example, Purdue’s sales of OxyContin have exploded 6,789% from $45 million to $3.1 billion between 1996 and 2010. That doesn’t even account for the further meteoric growth OxyContin’s sales have seen since the advent of the opioid crisis.
But with its size and diverse array of revenue streams, Johnson & Johnson may be able to overcome the current storm in a way strict pharma companies cannot. The firm owns a plethora of consumer brands, including everything from Acuvue contact lenses to Neutrogena face wash. This consumer area of the business brought in roughly $13.9 billion in revenue last year. While that pales in comparison to its pharmaceutical business’s $40.73 billion, Johnson & Johnson’s barrage of lawsuits may entice the firm to grow its consumer brands portfolio in order to insulate itself from the government’s highly sensitive scrutiny on the pharma industry.
Looking Ahead
Johnson & Johnson is in a tough position: it’s being made an example of in front of the whole country as it fights for innocence from one of America’s worst health crises in recent history. However, it’s in a much better position than other pharma firms like Purdue in that Johnson & Johnson has a larger business beyond drugmaking. That means losing its opioid business wouldn’t be the end of the world for shareholders.
All things considered, JNJ looks poised for more volatility while the Oklahoma trial plays out in the coming weeks and possibly months. Investors should maintain a wait-and-see approach and keep up with the news in order to locate a good entry point for JNJ stock.