  johnson  johnson has been ordered to pay nearly 19 million in damages by a california to a mesothelioma victim   the company has proposed a 89 billion settlement to end tens of thousands of cases and stop new ones from coming through   the stock declined at the news but gained 6 at the upbeat q2 earnings report big pharma stalwart johnson  johnson suffered a blow to its talc litigation defense when a california court determined the company must pay a 24yearold man nearly 19 million in damages the victim had developed cancer from a johnson  johnson baby talcum powder with johnson  johnson looking to settle thousands more through the us bankruptcy court it was a downbeat moment for the company’s share price but soon revived with a stellar earnings report for the second quarter two days later the looming shadow of further litigation might be enough for investors to get cold feet in the long term let’s get into the details healthcare stocks are down in 2023 which is another reminder that a balanced and diversified portfolio is the key to longterm success qai’s value vault kit is one way to go about it packaging up the companies with strong balance sheets and relatively low valuations to help you build wealth on bargain stocks it’s all powered by a nifty ai sidekick that does the heavy lifting with the data predicts where the upside lies and readjusts the kit’s holdings to help you stay one step ahead think of it as your new investing ai copilot what happened in the johnson  johnson ruling in the first litigation johnson  johnson has faced over its talcum powder in nearly two years a california court has ruled in favor of 24yearold plaintiff emory hernandez valadez he developed mesothelioma in the tissue around his heart which he claimed resulted from heavy exposure to johnson  johnson talcum powder throughout his childhood the judge ruled that hernandez was entitled to 188 million in damages to compensate him for medical bills and the pain and suffering caused but he was not awarded punitive damages the case was allowed to proceed given the rarity of hernandez’s cancer and his limited life expectancy johnson  johnson has said it will appeal the verdict with the company’s vice president of litigation erik haas calling the judgment “irreconcilable with the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming johnsons baby powder is safe does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer” how long could the litigation go on for tens of thousands of plaintiffs have sued johnson  johnson alleging that the company’s baby talcum powder contained lifethreatening asbestos leading to mesothelioma and ovarian cancer the company has always maintained that the talcum powder has never contained asbestos in april johnson  johnson subsidiary ltl management filed for bankruptcy in new jersey and proposed a 89 billion settlement for over 38000 lawsuits and to stop new cases from being filed the figure dwarfs the original 2 billion jj offered the bankruptcy filing is part of a strategy to resolve the talc claims in bankruptcy proceedings rather than expose johnson  johnson to massive litigation most litigation is halted while the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings ensue the tens of thousands of plaintiffs argue the filing was done in bad faith and the courts rejected an earlier attempt from jj to file a subsidiary for bankruptcy in january in a bankruptcy court filing johnson  johnson said the running cost of the talcum powder litigation had so far totaled 45 billion  and the vast majority of claims haven’t even gone ahead yet the plaintiffs will vote on whether to accept the 89 billion settlement this summer which needs a 75 majority if they reject it investors should expect this to rumble on for years if not decades what were johnson  johnson’s latest earnings like despite the litigation drama johnson  johnson posted a decent earnings beat for the second quarter the conglomerate recorded adjusted earnings per share at 280 on revenue of 255 billion which surpassed analyst expectations initial predictions had come in at 262 a share on revenue of 246 billion worldwide sales were up 63 compared to last years period with the increase down to the company’s medtech division outperforming the arm saw a 147 increase in sales on an operational basis johnson  johnson also updated its fullyear earnings guidance saying it expects to reach 1075 per share for the 2023 fiscal year that’s slightly higher than the 1065 per share figure the company and wall street forecasted in april in a boon for shareholders johnson  johnson also announced it would be letting shareholders exchange the company’s shares for kenvue shares consumer health business kenvue is the company johnson  johnson spun out at the start of this year but still retains a 90 ownership further details on the shareswapping scheme are yet to be announced at the california court verdict johnson  johnson shares slid 15 in premarket trading on wednesday last week falling a further 02 when the markets opened thanks to the good news from the secondquarter earnings johnson  johnson pulled back the losses the stock rose 13 in premarket trading last week reaching as high as 6 during trading hours as johnson  johnson’s earnings usually act as a barometer for the sector its competitors saw a small lift to their share prices as well pfizer was up 02 merck rose by 03 as did bristol myers squibb jj might have its litigation woes but on the whole the healthcare sector has been weak in 2023 johnson  johnson is down 449 since the start of the year pfizer struggling to get past its pandemic success is down 27 bristolmyers squibb has declined 105 in value while merck and astrazeneca have stayed flat part of the reason is the medicare drug price negotiations passed as part of the inflation reduction act most of big pharma including johnson  johnson has sued the us government over the move in a bid to overturn the law a statement from the company said the pricing limits would “constrain medical innovation limit patient access and choice and negatively impact the overall quality of patient care” johnson  johnson will want to see the california case go through the appeal process as quickly as possible lest it trigger a fresh wave of lawsuits wall street might still be keen on the stock as the earnings look good but there’s a question mark hovering over the company’s future it all depends on whether a settlement can be reached  and if it can johnson  johnson has clearer skies ahead johnson  johnson’s legal issues could spell trouble in the longterm but there’s little use in picking individual stocks when you can let ai help you invest the value vault kit from qai offers a solid solution bundling up firms boasting robust balance sheets and bargain valuations to help you capitalize on underpriced stocks all of this magic is brought to life by a sharp ai pal that shoulders the data analysis anticipates the areas of potential gain and rejigs the kits 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