Johnson & Johnson third-qtr results beat analysts’ expectations

US health care giant Johnsons & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), the first in the sector to report third-quarter 2014 financial results, pleased investors, topping average Wall Street expectations, and the firm raised its full-year estimates. J&J’s shares rose nearly 1.4% to $100.50 in premarket trading, but dipped 1.4% to $9771 by mid-morning.

J&J posted revenue of $18.47 billion (up 5.1%) for the reporting quarter, which topped analysts’ forecasts of $18.31 billion. The company said net income rocketed 59% to $4.75 billion, or $1.66 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.50 per share, also beating the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research of $1.42 per share. J&J’s sales of its Ortho Clinical Diagnostics business contributed a $1.1 billion gain.

The company says it now expects earnings adjusted for one-time items to range between $5.92 and $5.97 per share this year, up from the forecast it made in July for $5.85 to $5.92 per share. Analysts have been projecting earnings of $5.92 per share for the year.