Johnson & Johnson Shares Take a Downward Dip

Johnson & Johnson shares dropped 0.28% to $172.18 Wednesday. This proved to be an all-around grim trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX falling 0.02% to 4,400.64 and Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA falling 0.36% to 34,930.93. Johnson & Johnson closed $1.47 below its 52-week high ($173.65), which the company reached on January 26th. The stock crashed when compared to some of its competitors Wednesday, as Roche Holding AG Part. Cert. RHHVF fell 0.00% to $369.00, Merck & Co. Inc. MRK rose 0.62% to $78.33, and Pfizer Inc. PFE rose 3.21% to $43.45.

Johnson & Johnson’s trading volume (5.5 M) remained 845,760 below its 50-day average volume of 6.4 M. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the stock’s fall snapped a six-day winning streak. The benefits of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen coronavirus vaccine still outweigh potential risks.

CDC researcher Dr. Hannah Rosenblum told the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in a meeting on Thursday that many hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths can be prevented through Janssen and mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, far outweighing the risks. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are messenger RNA or mRNA vaccines.

Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration updated the label on Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to warn of the possible increased risk of a rare neurological complication known as Guillain-Barré syndrome. The FDA said 100 preliminary reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome had been filed with the US government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, out of 12.8 million Janssen vaccines given. While the FDA said it had not established the vaccine could cause the syndrome, it noted an increase in reports of the sometimes paralyzing condition.