5 Best Stocks to Buy Amid Inflation in 2022 and Beyond

2. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

The pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the biggest companies in the United States, with a market cap of $445.917 billion. At the end of FY 2021, the company generated $93.8 billion in sales as its pharmaceutical business grew by 35% and medical devices sales by 16%.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the few companies with a AAA credit rating. It is one of the safest companies to turn to amid inflation. Its share price increased 3x in the last ten years and sales grew by 50%. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has the reputation of not relying on specific drugs or segments but keeps a more diversified range of products than its competitors. In 2021 alone, the company made 147 innovation deals and launched 20 new medical equipment products.

SVB Leerink analyst David Risinger on May 23 assumed Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s coverage with an Outperform rating and a $200 price target. The analyst believes the company can deliver consistent earnings growth and carry out value-enhancing mergers and acquisitions.

Here is what Distillate Capital had to say about Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in its second-quarter 2021 investor letter.

“The largest additions in the rebalance, Johnson & Johnson was around 50 and 40 basis points incrementally. J&J underperformed in the quarter while its normalized free cash flows held steady and so its position size was topped off to match the stable cash flows.”